


The Big Four Part I: Enemy on the Rise

by jayjay4750



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010), The Big Four - Fandom
Genre: Gen, How to Train Your Dragon 2 Spoilers, Post-Brave, Post-How to Train Your Dragon 2, Post-Rise of the Guardians, Post-Tangled, Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-17 22:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2325710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayjay4750/pseuds/jayjay4750
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When four unlikely individuals end up crossing paths, an old 'friend' arises out of nowhere, on a mission for vengeance after an event from years ago. While he is more prepared than ever, the four must rely on their friends and each other to overcome it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not-So-Pleasant Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, dear reader!
> 
> If you are seeing this, then I am sorry to inform you that I have officially announced that I will not continue this story. As you are reading this, I can working on a revised version of the story, with a new plot, new characters, everything. I will still leave this here to read, though.

 

Hiccup leaned his back against a rock near a stream as his Night Fury, Toothless, picked at some fish. He placed his elbows on his knees in a typical sitting position. The afternoon sun beat straight down on the two as Hiccup began reaching for his map, but thought otherwise and withdrew his hand. His eyes shifted back to the stream, which was full of fish jumping straight out of the water and diving back in. he watched as Toothless caught a fair amount of them in his mouth and gobbled them down.

Hiccup just sighed after a few seconds. "We haven't seen one dragon in a while," he says to no one in particular. Only Toothless, who was still busy picking out fish, could hear him. "You think we would've at least found something like a Timberjack?"

As usual, he was out mapping new lands which housed dragons he nor anyone else back at Berk has ever seen before. But he's been out here for about a day and a half. Not one dragon in the past few hours. At this point, someone like him must wonder what might have happened to them, or if there even are any dragons living in the area. Being chief, he didn't know how long Valka, Gobber, and Astrid could handle the place with him gone. He's had a few qualms that made him want to turn back, but he dismissed all of them and pressed on.

Hiccup noticed something out-of-place near his head. There, hanging from a branch by a thin string, was a piece of wood, carved into a simple circle. The design made it look somewhat like a target. Upon further examination, he noticed several arrows lodged into it, all hitting what would be the bull's–eye, confirming that it was indeed a target.

Staring deeper into the forest, Hiccup could see several other target–like wood carvings scattered throughout. Every single one of them had at least one arrow lodged right into the bull's–eye, and some of the targets with multiple arrows had one arrow split in two by another.

Hiccup caught sight of something in the forest. He's definitely never seen one of these before. It looked like a small beacon, emitting a thin blue light. He could've sworn he heard it whispering to him. Hiccup's foot slipped forward, and—

 _Whoosh!_  An arrow breezed straight by his head, lodging itself into the wood carving. Hiccup reeled back as it appeared so suddenly, landing him a one–way ticket straight into the stream. Lucky for him, she was able to hit her mark (although judging by the arrows in the target, she does it every time). A bit to the right, and he could've been a goner. Toothless jumped as well from the arrow that barely missed his owner by a few inches.

"Whoa!" screams a feminine voice in a surprised fashion, followed by what sounded like a crash into undergrowth. The neighing of a horse came shortly after. It came from inside the forest, and more than likely, the owner of that voice is the one who shot that arrow. "Angus!" she screams.

Toothless turned to reveal to Hiccup a Scottish Clydesdale horse, jet–black with an ivory muzzle and fetlocks. By now, Hiccup was just standing up and stepping out of the stream, barely catching sight of it. Upon seeing the horse, he rushed over to Toothless, bouncing along on his prosthetic left leg.

Out of the trees emerged a girl, not very far from Hiccup's own age. She had long, wild, fiery red hair and a slender body. In her hand, she held a bow, confirming that it was her who shot the arrow. A leather quiver stored several arrows in a spot where she could instantly grab one should she ever need to.

Hiccup was forced to restrain Toothless from lunging at her. "Can I help you?" he asks, still trying to restrain Toothless. The fact that he had to do this disabled him from retrieving his sword, as he couldn't restrain him with just one hand.

"Merida! You okay, princess?" called a voice through the woods.

"I'm fine, mum!" the red–haired girl called back in a thick Scottish accent before turning her head back to Hiccup and Toothless.

"So your name is Merida," says Hiccup as the two entered Merida's view. "My name is Hiccup. Great name, I know." He said the last sentence with a very slight hint of sarcasm. Not fully sarcastic, although it was definitely there.

Toothless stopped moving, although a look of displeasure remained clear across his face. Hiccup was then allowed to reach for his sword, which he grabbed but never deployed. He was still unsure what this girl named Merida may do.

After a moment, Merida slung her bow onto her back and over her shoulder, sending Hiccup a message that said, "I'm not going to attack." Hiccup put his sword away, and the displeased look that swept across Toothless's face suddenly disappeared, returning to its typical expression.

Both of them relaxed, and what sounded like something galloping away rang throughout the woods. Someone riding on horseback, definitely, but whoever it was seemed to be leaving instead of wanting to join the party.

Merida took a glance back. "Well, there goes mum," she muttered under her breath so that Hiccup couldn't hear. She turned her head back to Hiccup to find him still standing there, frozen in place.

"So, your name's Hiccup?" asks Merida curiously, taking a single step closer.

"Yeah," Hiccup replied, keeping a fairly straight and emotionless face.

Merida came a few steps closer. "And I'm assuming you already know what my name is."

"Merida. I heard your mom say it a minute ago," says Hiccup, feet (or foot and prosthetic) still locked in place. After a few moments, he decided to take a seat and leaned against a large boulder, the same one he leaned against when they landed here. "So where am I?"

"DunBroch," Merida answers in a curt fashion. "Where exactly are you from?" she asks, approaching closer.

"Berk. I've been gone one and a half days, if you've ever heard of that place. DunBroch, is it? Never heard of it." Hiccup ran a hand over the smooth rock that he was sitting on, the running water just inches from his prosthetic leg.

Merida was now right beside Hiccup, standing over him. "Ah. That explains it. Yeah, I've never heard of that place. And since you said you've been out here for one and a half days, and since you're with that," she pointed at Toothless, "then you must be a long way from eh… Berk. I bet a dragon could fly much faster than a boring old boat can sail across the sea. Why are you even out here to begin with?"

The question came so suddenly, it took Hiccup a few seconds to react. He reached for his map and flashed the neatly folded array of papers in his hand. When folded, it was about the size of one of Hiccup's pieces of paper which lay stored under a cover on his sleeve. It looked like they were all stacked upon each other. "Mapping new lands, learning about new dragons, and all that fun stuff."

Hiccup looked around for a spot where he would be able to unfold his map, yet avoid any splashing water from the stream (or Toothless). In time, he was able to find a good flat spot several feet past the tree line. He stood up and rushed over to that spot, and Merida followed him.

Hiccup carefully laid the map down on the ground and dropped to his knees. He unfolded it, and to Merida, it looked as if it would be quite irritating to unfold the thing. However, after the countless times Hiccup has added new segments to it, he knew every crease of the thing, so he made the job look like a cakewalk.

There, on the map, was a sketch of every dragon Hiccup has found in every new land he and Toothless have discovered in the past few years. Every dragon the two have discovered for Berk, and the dragons' home place in relation to Berk. Merida was able to read the text, although it did take her a few seconds to adapt to Hiccup's handwriting.

Hiccup pointed at a spot toward the middle of the map. "This would be Berk." He moved his hand over toward the bottom–right corner of the map. "And that is one of our more recent discoveries."

Merida peered closely at the one segment he was pointing at and read his nearly illegible handwriting. Or at least she tried to. "What's this say?" she asks Hiccup.

Hiccup squinted, reading the text she was pointing at. "Itchy Armpit."

"Itchy armpit?" Merida chuckled, although a slight hint in her expression made her think Hiccup was crazy enough to give something a name like that. "What kind of name is that?"

Hiccup just laughed along. "A name given by Toothless." He looked over at the dragon who was sitting by the stream. "Right, bud?"

Toothless's head perked up from the stream toward the two, and he pounced straight at Hiccup, pinning him straight down as Merida just watched from the sideline.

"Ah!" exclaims Hiccup in a cheerful manner. Toothless gave Hiccup a huge lick to the face, and Hiccup made several attempts to block the wave of slob.

Merida chuckled as Toothless backed up off of Hiccup's body, leaving him in a defensive position with his arms in front of his face and his knees up.

"Oh, come on!" says Hiccup, shaking off the dragon saliva. "After Gods–know–how–many times, you know that doesn't wash out!"

Merida just burst out laughing from the side as her view shifted from Hiccup to Toothless, who had a light smirk on his face (or so Merida guessed it was a smirk). Hiccup gave her a light grin in response, his eyes shut as he gestured between himself and Toothless. Then his eyes shot straight back to his map, which was still folded. As Merida was still laughing, he carefully kneeled down, folded up the map, and put the thing away.

Merida had calmed down by the time Hiccup finished with his map and gritted her teeth, staring at Toothless's prosthetic tailfin. She waited until Hiccup sat down again before pointing at Toothless and asking about it.

"What happened to his tail?" she suddenly pipes up. Hiccup's eyes were trailing off into the woods, so the question took him by surprise. "Missing half."

Hiccup jolted slightly before answering. "Oh. That? Uh… shot him down. I ended up finding him in the woods, made him an initial prosthetic. Really, it wasn't that great compared to the one he has now, but after all, the one he has now is newer."

"Oh…" Merida didn't understand how Hiccup could simply shoot Toothless down and then suddenly help him. Her eyes began to trail off until she caught sight of Hiccup's prosthetic leg. "And what is it with your leg?"

Again, the question took Hiccup by surprise, but he didn't jolt again, as he was anticipating a question— just not this particular one. "Fighting some dragon threatening to kill off my whole village. Long story made short, we managed to take it down, Toothless's prosthetic tailfin detached, and I would have been killed that day if it weren't for him."

Again, Toothless shot a glance over at the two, but then looked back away after a few seconds. He looked right at Angus, who reeled back, making a lot of noise.

Merida was sidetracked. "Angus! It's okay!" she says, attempting to calm the black Scottish Clydesdale and gesturing for him to come over. Overall, she wasn't doing a good job at it.

Angus neighed in response, keeping his distance from Toothless.

Hiccup seemed to take note of it and jumped in. He placed a hand on Merida's shoulder. "I don't think he'll come over. Just leave him be. Let him calm down on his own."

Merida sighed as a sign of giving up. "Fine."

The two of them just sat in silence right next to each other, listening as water flowed down the stream. Angus had gone silent by now, meaning he had calmed down.

Hiccup spoke up, breaking the silence. "So… you got dragons around here?" he asks Merida, although he already knows what the answer would most likely be.

"No," answered Merida. "This is the first one I've seen in my life."

"Thought so." After seeing no dragons for a full day, it wouldn't take a genius to think that there are no dragons in DunBroch.

Merida sighed as well. Quickly, she stood up and headed over to Angus.

"Where are you going?" asks Hiccup, standing up as well.

Instead of answering, Merida just walked right past, and Angus followed her as she remained silent, stomping off into the forest.

Hiccup shot a glance at Toothless with a look that said, "I don't know." Toothless seemed clueless as well. The two of them watched Merida ventured farther in, but she walked on her own the whole way rather than taking Angus, which would, without a doubt, be much faster.

Rather than just staring off into blank space and watching Merida disappear, Hiccup opted to follow her right into the forest. Chances are, her mother wouldn't let her hurt herself (duh), and there really wasn't anywhere else to go if it wasn't home.

He ran, and Merida never picked up the pace. Rather, she allowed Hiccup to catch up to her. If anything, she slowed down her pace once she noticed Hiccup was following her.

"Wait!" says Hiccup as he caught up with Merida. "You still haven't answered a few things about this place yet!"

Merida continued walking, but she decided to speak up. "And I've still got questions to ask about your place."

Without even giving a start, the two jumped to their first questions. "What have you got at home?" asks Hiccup.

"What have you got at Berk?" asks Merida at the same moment.

The two of them realized that both of them had spoken simultaneously, meaning that neither of them picked up on whatever the other said. The two of them continued to navigate through the forest, Merida leading the way, as Hiccup has obviously never been here before, and Merida has lived around here her whole life. "Uh, you go first," says Hiccup.

"Okay," Merida replies, taking a deep breath before asking. "What do you guys have back at Berk? Like, what do you do there? What are the people like?" Hiccup could tell it was more than what she asked at first, but he found no problem in answering everything she asked.

"Eh, well, as for the people, Vikings. Tough, stubborn, some demeanor if I do say so myself. Uh… just be aware that they hardly ever listen… um… well, dragons, well they used to be a bit of a problem," he says nervously.

Vikings. That was the one key word Merida heard from Hiccup, and it kept replaying in her mind as she listened. As soon as Hiccup said, "Viking," it set off an alarm in her knowledge. How could this guy, who was close to her age, be a Viking? For one thing, he looked nothing like one. For another, he didn't act like one either. At least, not in the way she learned. The word stuck in her head to the point where she didn't even hear anything else Hiccup was saying.

"Wow," says Merida, awestruck. "Some village really dug into living with dragons, are you guys?"

Hiccup didn't want to go too far with his answer this time, seeing how Merida reacted to his first one. "Yep," he answers curtly.

Merida decided to move on. Hiccup has already told her more than enough about Berk. "So here, we have–," she was cut off as the two emerged from the forest, revealing a large stone castle across a bridge, overlooking a vast lake. The place was huge compared to most buildings back on Berk, making it almost certain for one to become lost if left alone.

"Well, I guess I get to see now," says Hiccup as Merida started forward.

Merida crossed the bridge first, and once on the other side, she looked back and quickly gestured for Hiccup and Toothless to come over.

Hiccup and Toothless did so, and Merida walked past the two guards at the main entrance to the castle. One of them was a thin man who was sleeping on the job, and his mustache grew longer on one side than the other. He sort of resembled Hiccup when he was younger, minus the ethic and the mustache. Awkward, sleeping fish bone. The other one was, by far, in much better condition.

"Let them in," whispers Merida as she walks straight past. Hiccup could hear her, so it was clear that Merida still wanted him here.

Hiccup looked over at the other guard just in time to catch sight of the longer side of his mustache being chopped shorter than what was the shorter side, waking him up. The guard didn't know who it was, of course, as he was asleep and completely oblivious to the presence of whoever did it. Hiccup barely caught sight of a red streak, but it disappeared just as fast as he saw it.

Upon noticing Toothless, the once–sleeping guard raised his weapon, although the look on his face told everyone that he was going to lose this fight that would never happen.

"Martin, no," Merida snapped at him.

Although still nervous, the guard put down his weapon. He was still visibly shaking, having actually seen a real dragon for probably the first time in his life.

Hiccup came a bit closer to Merida. "How are we supposed to get him inside without someone freaking out?" he whispers.

"We don't," replies Merida as she proceeds inward.

Well, that's never something anyone wants to hear. "Well, then I sure hope you know what you're doing," says Hiccup as he and Toothless follow, grabbing more than enough stares.

Most people either fled or held up some sort of weapon at the sight of Toothless— until they caught sight of Merida. The fact that she looked unfazed and fully aware that there was a dragon right behind her raised a few eyebrows. At this point, a reasonable question would be, "Why isn't the princess doing anything about that dragon?" or, "Is the princess trying to get herself killed?"

The only one who really looked uncomfortable but didn't flee was Angus. Of course, no one would just let the Clydesdale run off somewhere just to get away from the dragon, so he was pretty much forced to stick close to Toothless.

They reached an area that looked like a complete mess, with hay bales scattered all over the place. Stables, no doubt about it. Merida left Angus in a stall, which was no surprise at all.

Hiccup walked over to another stall, this one vacant. "Want me to leave him here?" he asks.

Merida thought for a moment before she decided to answer. "No. Bring him in."

One step was all it took. One step, and everything suddenly fell silent. There, standing in a doorway, was a plump woman with white headwear. She was frozen in place, eyes widened. In one hand, she held a tray of desserts, which was being feasted upon by a small boy, whose hair was similar to Merida's.

"Oh no," whispers Merida before raising her voice. "Maudie!"

Rather than listening, Maudie ran off screaming, arms flailing. The tray of desserts went flying, and two more young boys who looked exactly like the first one scuttled after everything that flew off that tray.

Merida just sighed. "Come on," she says to Hiccup and Toothless, and the two of them followed.

After taking a winding path through the castle (which Hiccup lost himself halfway through), Merida came up to a large door. She opened it, the door creaking on its hinges with every slightest move it made.

A disgruntled voice could be heard from the other side. "Ugh. Maudie, what is it this time?" The voice had the same thick Scottish accent as Merida, definitely masculine. "No bears this time around."

Merida could see Maudie and the king talking. Maudie opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Merida intervened.

"It's nothing," she says, casually stomping into the Great Hall. Inside was a large wooden table with several chairs propped up to it, and scattered around the table were trays of food carrying a high level of variety. There was meat, fruits, bread— everything, like someone was about to have a feast.

Hiccup decided to enter as well, and Toothless followed not too far behind. The door creaked open, and Toothless accidentally bumped into a wall, setting off everyone in the room.

The king was first to take a look at the door, seeing the black, green–eyed dragon staring at him in a harmless way. It didn't work out. Rather than holding his ground, the king charged straight for Toothless, sword drawn. "Fergus, no!" screams that same voice from the forest. Merida's mum.

Merida drew her bow as the queen jolted straight onto her feet. Toothless backed off until he hit the wall.

Hiccup barely caught sight of him charging from the corner of his eye, and if it weren't for the queen screaming, someone would be a goner. He quickly drew his sword and deployed it, the flames dancing around the blade. It looked menacing, like it had the ability to cut through steel, but at the same time, it looked appealing to the eye. Capable of putting on a good show.

 _CLASH!_  The two blades met with a bang as Hiccup blocked Fergus's attempt to take a slash at Toothless. They both struggled to gain the upper hand, and from the looks of it, Fergus was clearly winning this one.

Only after the two blades met did Fergus realize what he was up against. Even if it were someone like Hiccup, someone who would often be overlooked by many, a blade of fire still looked menacing. Fergus has never seen anything like it before. Still, if it meant protecting Merida and Elinor from a dragon, he was willing to do it.

"Elinor! Merida!" shouts Fergus as he turned his head to Elinor. Elinor was just leaning forward, her palms pressing on the hard wood of the table. He turned to Merida to find her bow drawn. She loaded it with an arrow and pulled the string back.

"Stop. Fighting. Now," she says, taking a deep breath. Who would she shoot? No one had any idea. Fergus definitely knew how good she was with the thing. She's already disarmed him once (and thank the Gods she did), so there was no doubt she would do it again if she had to. Although Hiccup hasn't known her for nearly as long, he could still bet that Merida could nail him straight in the eye from that far away if she had to.

Fergus withdrew his sword but didn't drop it. A portion of the blade had turned red thanks to Hiccup. Hiccup, no longer having to struggle against the sheer force Fergus could apply on him, assumed he no longer wanted to fight and dropped his sword.

Without warning, Fergus lifted his sword in preparation to strike. There was nothing Hiccup could do at this point without taking it to extreme levels, and was that something he was really willing to do? Even if he's trying to kill him due to a misunderstanding, he barely knew the king.

 _WHOOSH!_  An arrow came whizzing by the two, and before either of them knew it, Fergus sword was sent tumbling straight to the stone floor of the castle. Toothless backed off right into the wall due to the sudden action. He turned his head to Merida with an, "are you crazy?" look on his face.

Hiccup, on the other hand, picked up his sword from the floor, but didn't deploy it. Instead, a strange dark green gas began seeping out from the other side, floating across the room.

He and Toothless headed over to a corner of the room, a disarmed king Fergus clawing at the gas. It looked like smoke, like the flames of his sword had set something on fire. He carried both of their swords across the room, although he was closer to dragging Fergus's. The blade screeched as it slid across the stone floor, while Hiccup had no trouble at all with his weapon.

"I'd be careful around that if I were you," says Hiccup casually, like nothing ever happened between the two. It was plain obvious that he knew what Fergus just tried to do, but he shouldn't be a threat so long as he is unarmed.

Fergus twitched, turning his head at Hiccup. "And why is that, wee lad?" he says, pulling his hand away from the gas. Perfect.

Hiccup raised his sword and pointed it at a small amount of gas near him. There was a trail of gas leading to the main concentration, so that's why he waited for Fergus to clear the way before demonstrating.

Suddenly, he deployed the thing, tongues of fire reaching outward. It was like a chain reaction. One bit of gas burst into flame, followed by the rest. All of it at once, it just caught fire.

And then it was all gone.

Fergus watched as the flames died out before turning his head back to Hiccup. He had a puzzled look on his face. Why was the boy he was just trying to kill earlier, why is he giving him a tip? Sure, neither of them had plans to harm the other, as Fergus listened to Merida thanks to past mistakes.

Merida trotted up to her father and tapped her on her shoulder. She took him aside for a further conversation, but they decided to keep it secret from Hiccup and Elinor for reasons unknown to those who couldn't hear them.

"You even know this lad?" whispers Fergus.

Merida's confident look dulled down slightly. "Met him at the stream," she says quietly. "What do you think you're doing with him?" she asks, her voice taking a sudden turn toward a more demanding tone.

Toothless nudged at Hiccup toward the door, but Hiccup insisted. "We'll be fine," he whispers, certain that no one other than Fergus would dare attack a dragon. As charming as they can be, they still have the ability to play ferociously. They have, by no means, evolved to become harmless ever since they moved into Berk.

"It. Is. A. Dragon. Merida," whispers Fergus to Merida, everyone else in the room still unable to hear.

Merida countered. "I told you I met him this afternoon. Maybe you'll say I shouldn't trust him because I just met him today, but if I tried to kill him or he tried to kill me, I wouldn't have brought them here. Just trust me with this."

Fergus just sighed audibly. There was no way he could win this one. He huffed in frustration before taking a seat at the table. Elinor shot him a strange look, and Fergus just questioned her expression.

Merida left the room, disappearing behind a small doorway. She emerged from the same place a few minutes later, a tray of raw fish in one hand.

Hiccup grabbed a fish from the top of the tray, feeling the cold scales before tossing it to Toothless. Toothless, who was watching everyone attentively, caught the fish in his mouth, and a grin broke across Hiccup's face. Toothless just devoured the thing, eyeing the tray Merida was holding.

Merida, knowing what he was thinking, set down the tray of fish right in front of Toothless. Without even the slightest delay, Toothless worked himself into the huge pile.

"Reminds me of my mum," whispers Merida.

The words reached Hiccup's ear, and although barely audible, he understood what she just said. How could seeing Toothless digging into a pile of fish remind her of Elinor? Sure, it did remind him of the first day he tested a prosthetic tailfin on Toothless, but as far as both of them knew, humans don't eat like that.

"What?" he asks.

Merida's head turned to Hiccup. "It's nothing."

"No, I know it's something," says Hiccup, trying to push her into telling him something. Telling him how it reminds her of Elinor.

Merida just sighed. "Fine." She paused for a moment before giving him an answer. "Bear."

* * *

Jack jumped from building to building as he always did before landing in a dark alley. He sauntered through, watching as streams of Dreamsand flew throughout the city. Like every night, the city lights were alive, providing him a clear view of everything around. Wreaths and Christmas trees decorated each and every building as a light snow began falling from the sky.

"Take me home," Jack whispers to the wind, gripping his staff. After a few seconds, the wind picks up, giving him a lift right back home, back to Burgess. He landed in the small town on a seemingly empty street, the city mostly silent.

But something just wasn't right in this place. Jack couldn't really put his finger on it, but something was off. Unusual, it was. His home wasn't the exact same place he's been living in for all this time, like something has shifted places with another.

Jack shook his head and mouthed the word, "no." Just like that, he was back up, jumping across rooftops as he always has, gripping his staff in his left hand.

From atop the buildings, he could overlook a good chunk of the small town, most windows blackened by now. He jumped over toward Jamie Bennett's house to find it dark. Every window, every house on the street was dark.

The place just had a more ominous setting than usual, but it was easily obvious that nothing terrible was about to happen. Jack flew up to the clouds, once again catching sight of Dreamsand as Sandy transported dreams to children.

Jack just decided to ride the wind wherever it would take him. He rolled over, seeing the land below become more of a mere blur, flashing right below him as he rode on. His head shot up to find the full moon shining down brightly. He was traveling east, and soon the ocean came straight into view, leaving nothing but the dark water to see. It doesn't take more than five minutes to get bored of watching the ocean at night. If it were dawn or dusk, however, that would be a different story.

Traveling east, the day would become seemingly shorter as Jack crossed time zones, but having traveled so often, it's become relatively nothing. However, this did mean that Jack would see the sun rise earlier than those at Burgess, or North America in general.

Knowing that he wouldn't fall, Jack dozed off as the wind continued to carry him throughout. He himself was unsure of where exactly where he was going. Right now, he was just headed to wherever the wind was taking him.

* * *

"Come on, Eugene!" shouts Rapunzel as she continues flying through the forest. Not literally, but it seemed like it considering how fast she swung along the branches. Running around with short hair did take some getting used to, but Rapunzel was able to manage. Flynn Rider, although he goes by Eugene Fitzherbert, was struggling to keep up.

Eugene had to stop for a moment to catch his breath. It seemed as though he was running for hours nonstop. "Where's Max when you need him?" he mutters to himself. He rested the palm of his left hand on a nearby tree trunk, watching as Rapunzel continued throughout the forest outside Corona. He held a frying pan in his other hand. One can never be too careful about things, and a frying pan makes for a great weapon against any foe.

His eyes traced over to a rock wall, a good portion of it filled with vines. He knew where he was and what exactly hid behind these vines. He stuck his hand out and reached through them, confirming that it was indeed the thing he thought it was.

Rapunzel seemed to notice that Eugene had stopped following her. Retracing her steps, she found Eugene staring at the one thing that hid the place she's lived in for eighteen years. Eighteen years she was secluded up there, away from her real family, raised by Gothel.

Before Rapunzel could mention anything, Eugene crossed through what was really vines, leaving him facing a tower. The tower he climbed with the satchel. "What are the chances of us coming across this again?" he murmurs.

Rapunzel walked up right next to him before proceeding toward the tower. "Say, you think there's anything in this place that could prove useful?"

Eugene had no idea. He's only been inside twice, and one time involved him getting killed by Gothel before Rapunzel brought him back. The other time wasn't so pretty, being the first time he's met Rapunzel. It involved him getting smacked by a frying pan thrice, getting licked by the chameleon Pascal in the ear twice, and the list goes on and on. "Uh… well, we can go check the place, see how it's doing after all this time of no one checking," he says.

They reached the base of the tower, searching for a way up. Now that Rapunzel's hair was short, getting up could be a bit of a hassle. The two of them scanned the perimeter before Eugene noticed a small hole in the wall. Also, in the same spot, the rock pattern changed to having no particular formation compared to the rest of the tower's walls.

Eugene reached his hand through the hole before dragging down a few more stones that made up the formation. He continued to tear away at it until he was left with an open doorway. "Well, I guess we've found ourselves a way up."

Rapunzel was already watching. Eugene gestured inside saying, "Probably Gothel's plan in case you went missing. Still works." She was the first to step inside the tower that held her for eighteen years. The two of them proceeded up, up, up. They circled so many times as they climbed that it felt like they were just walking in circles, gaining no ground at all. As thin and tall as the tower was, building something like this inside couldn't have been a cakewalk.

The two of them reached the top, finding no markers, nowhere they could enter from. Eugene placed his hand on the ceiling, feeling an individual piece slip as he pushed it. It also made a slight creaking noise as it budged, like stone rubbing against stone.

Eugene handed Rapunzel his frying pan in order to free up both of his hands. It took several tries, several times he had to push up before it opened up. He pushed the tile aside, and the dark ceiling of the tower came into view.

The two of them climbed in in order to find how much of a mess the place was. A shattered mirror still lay on the floor from the day Gothel was killed. There was no hair snaking along the floor, however. The two of them could barely see a thing, as only one window was open. Rapunzel headed over to the door and opened it, lighting up the place enough so they could see most of the interior.

Eugene brushed off some of the dust on his fingers. "You want to clean this place up, Rapunzel?" he asks.

* * *

Once Jack came back to attention, he was flying over a forest. The sun was already shining bright overhead, meaning it was around noon. But Jack should be seeing something— buildings, cars, trucks, all of that. But all he saw was forest, forest, and more forest. Maybe the occasional stream or pond, but that didn't hold his attention for that long.

Jack came across a gorge, and looking down, he spotted a tower. The design however, wasn't that of any modern building. No, this looked like some older building, like it was built a long time ago. Having been around for a long time, he didn't know why he's never seen any buildings designed like this.

Curious, Jack flew down to the tower before circling it, searching for a way in. Strangely enough, the main door was toward the top of the tower, but he did find an open doorway littered with stones on the ground at the bottom.

Rather than flying straight in, Jack landed and inspected the open doorway. Nothing with hinges hung onto it, as if this was never meant to be the main entrance to this tower. Because it wasn't. If the main entrance was at the top, then how is one supposed to enter this thing? This only looked like a backup in case the way up was lost or destroyed.

Jack flew straight back up, landing atop the roof of the tower this time. Leaning over the edge, he inspected the door at the top of the tower. It looked much closer to a main entrance than that old stone thing. There was a small wooden platform to stand on, but nothing was growing in the pots that decorated it. Whoever lives here must have been gone for a long time.

No more than three seconds later, Jack heard a sound like someone were pounding on something. It sounded like it was coming from underneath the floor. Observing, he watched as a tile on the floor budged, moving upward. Soon, it dislodged itself from the others, revealing a hole in the floor large enough for a person to climb through. Two people emerged, entering the tower. Both had short brown hair, one male and one female. He looked a bit older than her, and the two of them looked like a couple. The girl held a frying pan in one hand, for a reason Jack could not come up with. Jack positioned himself at the top of the only flight of stairs there was, watching as the two tried to find a way to light up the room. Sure, it was dark, but not too dark to the point where they couldn't see anything.

The girl headed over to the door and opened it, lighting up the place enough so they could see most of the interior.

The other one brushed off some of the dust on his fingers. "You want to clean this place up, Rapunzel?" he asks.

Jack decided to try and get out, but knowing that they probably couldn't see or hear him, he was expecting it to be easy. He just simply trotted over to the main entrance, acting as if the other two didn't even exist.

He turned around as he was almost out, checking on the two. "Hey!" the man yells as he faces them. The girl charged right at Jack.

Jack took one step back, but it was a bit too much. His leg bumped into the frame, and he ultimately tripped over the edge, the platform failing to catch him. The girl's hand missed his ankle by inches, swiping the thin air. Soon, he found himself plummeting toward the earth.


	2. Uprising

Rapunzel pressed her palms on the wooden platform, peering straight down from the door. The boy was nowhere to be seen, like he just disappeared into thin air after tripping. Maybe he wasn't even there to begin with. Maybe that could've just been a memory, a memory of how Gothel tripped over and plummeted straight down in the same unspectacular fashion. Then again, he looked so real.

She gripped her short, brown hair with her hands. "Oh, what did I just do? I just let another person die to this tower!" she says, tears forming in her eyes.

Eugene just walked up to her, trying to comfort her. "Hey. It'll be alright," he says, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Besides, that was old age last time."

Rapunzel just buried her face in her hands, crying herself out, crying because he couldn't save him. It was nothing like Gothel. This boy, although she could barely get a look at him, he looked much younger. Gothel was so old to the point where there wasn't even a body intact upon reaching the ground. This boy, he looked young, playful, and energetic. It was quite strange to think of how he could be like that— his hair was white, after all.

Climbing up onto the wooden platform at the door, she decided to take a look down. However, there was no way she could get down this way. No hair meant no quick way down, and taking the quick way down like that would be suicide. Climbing down from the outside wasn't worth the risk either, as taking the stairwell inside was much faster.

Squinting, Rapunzel saw nothing but the meadow and the small pond below. It was a view she's seen so many times before when she was younger, seeing the outside world from her tower. Before she knew who Gothel really was, before she met Flynn Rider, before her hair was cut.

She sighed, the view bringing back so many memories of her days spent up here. She was captivated by the incredible view, not because she could see so much, but because it brought back her best memories of being up here.

"How about 23 out of 45?" she whispers to herself, pretending Pascal were here. Eugene couldn't hear her, but he knew what she was thinking.

"Remembering your good times up here, are you?" Eugene asks Rapunzel, dawdling over to her.

Rapunzel just sighed. "Why haven't I ever come back here since leaving? I mean, sure, she's kept me here for eighteen years, but… there's just so many good memories from being here."

Always light in the dark. Those eighteen years of a missing princess may have been dark, but there were always good times, always a bright side to everything that doesn't go one's way.

"You looking for me?" a voice rose from behind them. Rapunzel turned to Eugene, and Eugene turned to her.

"Did you say that?" they both ask each other simultaneously. "No."

They heard a chuckle from inside the tower and whipped around to find the same boy standing right there. The same young, white–haired boy who just fell out of the tower a minute ago. Yet he was standing right in front of them.

In shock, Rapunzel gave him a taste of her frying pan, hitting him square in the cheek. The low, hollow sound resonated throughout the tower. So loud to the point where anyone in the meadow could hear it and be alarmed that something was going on up in the tower.

The boy just stumbled back, still conscious. It was an extremely hard hit, yes, but tough he was. It hurt, yes, but he's been worse. Much worse. He was aware that the attack came out of fear; no girl that innocent looking would dare attack first. He held his staff, which closely resembled a shepherd's crook. Frost crept up the staff, gathering around his hand.

Rapunzel approached him, pointing her frying pan at him just in case he would try to do something crazy. Although she was used to being with people by now, she, nor anyone, was used to seeing this boy. White hair on a teenager wasn't normal. Also, he was barefoot, like Rapunzel. In a way, she felt this boy has gone through events similar to her past. His eyes were open, bright blue and staring at Rapunzel.

"Jack Frost," he says in a curt fashion, climbing atop his staff.

* * *

"And then, well, she was changed back. When she was on the brink of having the spell become permanent, she was changed back," finishes Merida.

Hiccup was at least able to understand the story enough to know what she meant. Spell, magic, tapestry, bears…

Mor'du.

He may be dead, according to Merida, but the way Merida gave her description of Mor'du sounded like the demon bear still haunted her to this day. Humongous, scars all over the bear's body. A glowing yellow eye paired with a dead red eye on his deformed face. Definitely in–depth. One could just picture the black bear tearing everything to shreds. It's even tougher to think that he as a prince. Destroying that kingdom, killing his three younger brothers.

At least Hiccup now knew the meaning behind Fergus's sudden actions, trying to strike him down. They've lost Elinor once, and they're not losing her again.

Merida headed back over the table, slipping a tray of pastries under the table. The boys ducked under, out of sight from Fergus and Elinor, and began munching on the pastries.

She stepped by and ran a hand through her wild hair, watching as the three redheads below dug in. "Only a few more months until I get my desserts back," says Merida, sighing. It felt forever since she's actually had her desserts. It was tough, having to give them to the triplets for a whole year, but after all, it was what she had to do to save her mother's life.

Mother. Bear. Saving her life. She no longer looks at her mother with prejudice. Not after all they've gone through.

Merida sighed again before heading back over to Hiccup, offering him a pastry that she managed to sneak off from the tray before she gave it to the triplets. Watching them, Hiccup took a mental note to avoid those three. Small can mean dangerous, as learned when he was younger, watching Tuffnut getting horribly beaten by a Terrible Terror in Dragon Training.

"Oh! I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!" Hiccup could almost hear Tuffnut's voice all the way from Berk to DunBroch, a one and a half day trip by dragon. Who knew how long it would take to get to Berk from here by ship?

Hiccup accepted the offering, taking the pastry off Merida's hands. "Thanks," he says, taking a bite.

Merida watched her family eating at the table. Hiccup expected Merida to be called over to the table by Elinor, but for some reason, she never was. The entire family didn't even care a bit that Merida was next to Hiccup most of the time.

"You know you should apologize to him," says Merida.

Hiccup froze in the middle of taking a bite. "When he's the one who started that?"

"Ah forget it!" she exclaims, grabbing hold of Hiccup's arm. She dragged him over to the table, right next to Fergus, who stood up.

Fergus towered Hiccup, almost twice his height. Hiccup, being so much shorter than Fergus, spotted his left peg–leg. Hiccup looked down at his own prosthetic left leg, observing the metal foot and spring used for flying Toothless.

"Look. I'm sorry about earlier," starts Fergus. Wow. No one was expecting him to jump straight to that topic. Most people would at least expect someone to introduce themselves first before jumping onto the main idea.

"Fergus," says Elinor, beaming at him.

Fergus shot a look at Elinor. "Okay, fine. Fergus. King of DunBroch," he says in a light-headed way, almost like he was sleeping. It sounded like he was half–asleep and drunk at the same time.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Chief of Berk," replies Hiccup, imitating the king's tone. No one in the room could help but crack a smile, including Hiccup and Fergus.

Elinor jokingly shot Fergus a long stare, face pointed toward the table with her brown eyes pointed upward, right at her husband. "What was that?"

Everyone in the room just let out a small chuckle. There was no one inside except for Elinor, Fergus, Merida, Hiccup, and the triplets. The triplets were still under the table, but Hiccup and Merida could see one of them attaching something onto a leg of the table.

Hiccup's leg twitched, inching toward the red haired boy as he started fiddling with Fergus's peg–leg. He was stopped by Merida, who deliberately stuck her arm out in front of Hiccup. Hiccup shot a glance at her, and she shook her head before a light smirk appeared on her lips.

"What's this all about?" starts Fergus, inching toward Toothless.

Instinctively, Toothless backed off from him, still not fully trusting him after what he just attempted less than an hour ago. He bared his teeth, but it didn't seem to strike anything into Fergus. After his battles against Mor'du, he's practically become a fearless warrior, vowed to protect his family from any danger.

And to anyone who has never seen a dragon before, they would expect him to be hostile.

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open. In stepped a guard, the same one from the front gate. Not the sleeping fish bone, who was probably still dozing off on the job. The other, less dreadful guard, who had a look more worried than pissed or bored.

In no time at all, everyone was sprinting through the castle, warriors and maidens alike. Hiccup and Toothless came along, dodging those who ran the opposite direction, into the safe shelter provided by the sturdy walls of the castle.  _This doesn't look good,_  he thinks to himself, watching the frightened faces of those fleeing.

Upon stepping outside the castle, the sky was almost completely dark, the moon shining full and bright.

But it would be difficult to miss the ball of fire raining down on the place.

* * *

The three of them stepped into the castle, the ornate building shining bright in the sunset. The Corona emblem appearing everywhere they looked: the sun with five points. A perfect place for royalty, but all in all, the entire kingdom looked like it was prospering, nothing getting in the way. Everything was perfect ever since Rapunzel returned after eighteen years.

To Jack, the place looked very promising. He still didn't understand how the two of them could see him. Often, those who believed in him and the Guardians were children under the age of ten years old. The two of them looked to be in their young adult years. In fact, he wasn't even sure if other people could see him. Sometimes, when walking through the kingdom, several bystanders would stare at him like he was actually there. Maybe they could, as a select few, specifically grown–ups, kept an eye on him for a long time. And having a grown–up see him or any of the other Guardians would be a huge thing.

But little did he know that Rapunzel was the princess. Not until she stated in clear words, "this is my home," upon entering the castle.

"I love the view from the place," whispers Eugene upon stepping inside.

The polished floors provided a slightly distorted reflection of those who walked over it, but Jack wasn't just interested in the floor. The design of the entire place— the layout, the ornaments, everything. It was just incredible.

Throughout the castle, Jack couldn't look anywhere without finding the Corona emblem. It was just everywhere, except for on the floor, of course (unless he was staring down at a rug). The five–pointed sun with a violet background seemed to mean a lot to the residents of the kingdom.

They reached Rapunzel's room, surprisingly being spotted by no one. Except for the guards outside, no one's seen them trotting throughout the castle.

Rapunzel's room was similar to those in the castle, but there was an extra element added. Every wall, every ceiling, paintings covered them. Not paintings in frames, but the walls were painted on directly, like the ones in that tower. The exact same way, in the exact same style.

A tiny creature emerged from a corner, giving Jack an evil look. It was green, and it looked mean, but still small. Definitely suspicious about him, giving the fact that Jack's never seen it

"Pascal!" exclaims Rapunzel, allowing the chameleon to climb onto her shoulder. Perched up there, now around eye–level with Jack, he was able to look even more intimidating.

Jack just smirked, barely showing his white teeth. Green turned into red in front of him as Pascal made a feeble attempt at looking even more dangerous. It's not like he already did, though.

Nothing more to see in the castle, Rapunzel guided Jack back outside the front of the castle, where all the fun in the kingdom happens, according to her and Eugene. They passed by the guards again, and Jack noticed both of them wielding frying pans. Taking a look back at Rapunzel's frying pan, he began to wonder why everyone carried around frying pans. They're supposed to be used for cooking, not for… whatever else they could be used for.

A line of guards assembled in two lines, facing each other. Each one stood stout, holding up a frying pan. A white stallion trotted down the line, inspecting each guard for anything off or suspicious. No gaps, no movement, nothing.

"Hey, Max!" says Eugene as the horse reaches the end of the line. He tossed a sack toward him, which landed in front of him on its side. Out spilled several apples, catching the horse's attention.

Max dug into the apples, and Eugene sighed at the sight. Coming across that many apples these days was tough with Max rolling all over the place. Really, the guards seemed to be the main cause, as every time an apple went missing, it went to a guard, and then it went to Maximus. That, or the guards are always purchasing all of the apples as soon as they're available. Either way, the number of apples in the kingdom was constantly low.

Upon noticing Jack, which really didn't take that long, Max ran up to him, threatening with a dagger. The hilt was held in his mouth, the blade pointed right at him as if he were about to stab Jack. Jack held his hands up calmly, staff between his palms and thumb.

Max pointed the dagger at his staff, threatening to split it in half if he didn't drop it. Jack raised an eyebrow and dropped it, landing like a block on the stone path.

Their attention was turned away by a sudden explosion, sounding too close for comfort. The sound of pebbles rolling on the sidewalk could be heard over a million times as one building swelled up in flames. Smoke billowed from the place as screams were heard, followed by the sight of people fleeing the place.

"Fire!" screams one person who was fleeing.

Everyone rushed over to the place, watching as flames devoured one building. It was dangerous, probably capable of taking down a whole strip of the kingdom. The heat could be felt from their current spot as they continued watching.

While everyone split off in an attempt to stop the fire quickly, Jack had something else in mind. He knew that all of this meddling around was pointless. He picked up his staff from the middle of the pathway before rushing over to help.

Forcefully, Jack drove his staff into the pavement. Frost crept from the impact spot in all directions before dying off in every direction except for toward the fire. It continued to the building, whose fire has spread considerably further. The frost encased the whole thing, the fire beginning to fade away just as quickly as it came.

Cheers and gasps of awe erupted from surrounding bystanders the second the last of the flames died out, leaving the entire building coated in a translucent layer of ice. Designs of snowflakes formed from more opaque portions of ice. By now, the whole fire was all but forgotten.

Replaced by a rain of fire emerging from the bright orange sunset.

Everyone's eyes widened as they rushed to shelters, death looming over the heads of many, before realizing that doing so was pointless and changed their course for the bridge. Only Jack Frost and the kingdom's mound–like formation protected them from the incoming attack.

But who could this possibly be coming from? No one said anything, no warning was even given. Heck, no catapults or ships were even spotted in the distance. But they just suddenly appeared along with the fire. Right from oblivion, from nowhere, like they rose out of the ocean.

Rapunzel, Eugene, and Pascal fled with Max, quickly reaching the bridge, which was congested with the crowd of people, all with one goal: get off the island. Lines of people filled the entire bridge, most pushing and shoving others in an attempt to get to safety, into the forest. The boats were too risky; whoever was attacking seemed to be coming in by ship, and leaving the ports was a one–way ticket straight to imprisonment, or even death. Soon, the three found themselves as part of the crowd, no longer royalty.

Jack held himself in the fire zone, intercepting the entire line of fireballs. He knew what he could do, and what he should be doing to protect the place. All at once, they burst in midair, missing Jack by mere inches. Judging from the continuous wave of missiles coming in, it would still be best to evacuate the kingdom rather than stay and fight. Even the guards have begun to make their way toward the bridge.

Some people on the bridge, which was filled up to its maximum capacity, found themselves being trampled by the oncoming crowd behind them, which they didn't even bother to look back for. It was just wild.

The kingdom's one–way–in, one–way–out design was proving to be their downfall. If, perhaps, there were more ways out of Corona other than by boat, then maybe everyone would have a better chance of escaping.

Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, and Max were still trapped in the huge crowd. Soon, they were split by a wave of citizens, each losing sight of each other as the crowd unintentionally dragged them apart. Rapunzel and Eugene found themselves on either side of the bridge, struggling across with the crowd. Pascal was trapped on Rapunzel's shoulder, sure to get trampled should he jump down. By now, they were halfway across, the midpoint of an unlikely getaway.

One hit could send the whole bridge, the whole kingdom tumbling down, along with a good chunk of its population. And after that, who takes care of the survivors? Where do they go? Hundreds to feed, and very little to give. People would end up fighting over every single grain they could get their hands on.

The entire kingdom rested on Jack's shoulders. Knowing that they had no chance in confronting them, his mission was nothing more than holding them off until the whole kingdom was clear. The castle doors burst open, followed by a sprinting king and queen. Servants ran alongside them, also looking to flee the island.

Bam. Right there. That's his priority. Now faced with the task of not only stopping the bridge from being destroyed, but now he must stop anything from even getting close to the royal family.

But that royal family also included Rapunzel, whom Jack had no idea as to where she was. If she and Eugene were lucky, they would be on the bridge by now.

Wave after wave came in, and Jack continued to intercept everything that came his way. But he could only hold them off for so long. Sooner or later, he will have to give out.

The back of the crowd reached the midpoint on the bridge just as the rest of the royal family reached the bridge. With nothing in the way this time, however, they could easily cover half of the bridge before they would have to join in with the crowd.

Now Jack no longer had to deflect everything, only those he was sure would hit the bridge, or come dangerously close to it. He shot up into the air, riding the wind above the bridge.

Scorchers continued to rain down on the kingdom of Corona, destroying everything in its path. The aim changed from the castle to the bridge in an attempt to catch a few stragglers, a few of the laggard who were falling behind the crowd.

Rapunzel, Eugene, and Pascal reached the end of the bridge, meeting up as citizens scattered in all directions. Max soon reached them, and without hesitating, they climbed onto Max. Most went to the right, away from the attackers, traveling along the tree line.

A fireball came soaring their way, the arc perfect for a clean hit. No chance to outrun this one now. The three just watched as the roaring projectile hurled itself toward them.

Suddenly, the thing blew up just before it reached them, all four feeling the searing heat of it. Pascal tried to hide at the back of Rapunzel's neck as if she still had her hair. Jack flew right past them, leaving the four watching in awe as Jack climbed the wind back toward the attackers.

As the king and queen reached the other end of the bridge, they were forced to go with the majority of the citizens, leaving Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, and Maximus on their own.

A straight line of fireballs came at Jack, and he gave it one swipe of his staff at close range. All at once, the formation exploded right in front of him, knocking the wind out of him. Literally. He was sent plummeting to the earth for the second time in one day, this time straight toward the end of the bridge. Just a few meters away from where Maximus stood.

Max was just about to start off into the forest before Jack crashed right next to them. Eugene dismounted, hauling Jack in his arms and somehow finding a way to hold his staff as well. He once again mounted Max, and Max zipped off into the woods. Straight, away from the majority of the crowd.

Rapunzel was given one last glimpse of her home, one last look to see ships sailing to the ports. As much as the kingdom was in shambles already, she was surprised they didn't just destroy the place completely. Her home was spared.

But maybe it wasn't in the way she wanted.

* * *

Hiccup sprinted as fast as he could through the castle, bouncing on his prosthetic leg. Toothless also struggled with following, unable to run for five seconds without crashing into a wall, shaking the entire castle. The two followed Merida to the top of a tower, seeking a good vantage point to find what happened.

But in the dead of night, it was pretty difficult to see anything. Nothing but blackness and lights from the rest of the kingdom to be seen. The scorched spot of what remained from the impact was embedded into the once perfect grass. Now, nothing but a black circle.

Toothless fired off a shot straight out, easily clearing every obstacle on the ground. A ring of fire extended out from the spot, expanding in all directions. It served as a light source for a very brief moment before it died out, no one finding anything.

Merida headed back down the tower from inside while Hiccup opted to fly down with Toothless. Reaching Fergus and Elinor first, He quickly dismounted Toothless and rushed over to them.

"Couldn't find anything," he says, although he still seemed to be searching the sky for anything.

Fergus let out a grunt, frustrated that nothing was found. It was just so mysterious. One projectile hit the middle of the kingdom, and nothing came after that. Who does that? Was it some sort of accident, or could it possibly be a warning shot?

"Then we keep looking," demands Fergus.

Hiccup gave a curt nod before once again flying out on Toothless. Just then, Merida emerged from the old doorway.

"You coming?" Hiccup asks her, holding out his hand. Clearly, he was looking for Merida to come with him and help search. Three pairs of eyes work better than two, after all. Even in the dark.

"No," replies Merida. She held her bow in one hand, arrow in another, seeming to be looking for something.

Hiccup and Toothless took off as Merida retreated back inside the castle. The entire place seemed to be restless with everyone scrambling all over the place, confused. Finding a torch, she held the tip of her arrow to it, watching as the flame spread onto the tip. Careful not to let it go out, she rushed to the top of a tower to find Hiccup and Toothless zip by.

Observing, Merida could not spot anything outside the kingdom. The entire castle was lit up as well as the rest of the kingdom, but nothing on the outskirts. Knowing the kingdom, she loaded an arrow and aimed it toward the lake. Making sure she wouldn't hit Toothless, she took a glance upward to find them flying in a circle.

Inhale. Exhale. Merida breathed deeply before letting the arrow loose, right down to the lake.

The arrow was able to at least reach the lake before ultimately going out. With an inaudible and invisible splash, it was gone. Nothing found.

Toothless released another shot, another ring of fire emerging from where it exploded. Lighting up an even larger area farther in the distance, Merida caught a small glimpse of a streak of brown, accompanied by some white.

Another flame emerged from the lake, but this time, it wasn't Toothless. It looked like a tiny speck of yellow from the tower, but up close, it was a different story.

Hiccup, who managed to actually get close, had it lit up just several meters away from him and Toothless. From up close, it looked like a giant ball of fire, like a rock made from fire. Catching a glimpse of those on the ship, he found most wearing masks and dark cloaks, like ghosts roaming around an old house. The masks weren't of any design that he knew of, easily proving that these didn't come from Berk. It also meant that a dragon didn't light this.

Suddenly, a catapult launched the projectile at an arc so perfect he knew the thing would hit the castle. Unsure of whether or not they have been spotted, Toothless gave it a shot, causing it to explode in midair. The flames lashed out at everything near it, but due to being in the air, nothing was near it. Debris followed shortly, but most of it just fell straight down into the lake.

Merida watched as the remains plummeted down into the lake, managing to catch a glimpse of what it came from. It seemed to come from a ship, the unknown banner design barely visible in the black of night.

Toothless gave the source of the fireball a shot, sending something alight. The ship, which was much larger than it would look from afar, loomed over the two as they rounded it.

Clutching her bow like a lifeline, Merida spotted the ship light up again. Thinking it was another fireball, she loaded an arrow, but a keen eye is key. She found Hiccup and Toothless round the vessel, watching as another caught fire.

She sprinted down the stairs, passing by Hubert and Hamish along the way. They seemed to be messing with Maudie again, as she brushed by her shortly after, the plump woman seeming to be looking out for something. Possibly Harris, as he wasn't with the two.

Out of the doors she burst, bumping straight into her father. He was just about to set off down to the spot of the sighting, watching as the two ships began their journey down to the bottom. Merida took Angus out of the stables, the Clydesdale letting off an irritated shriek as it was interrupted from its slumber.

"Care for a ride?" asks Merida, stretching out her hand.

Fergus took the offer with no response, and soon the two were outside. They went spiraling down to their lake house, leveling off with the approaching ships. In the distance, supplied with only the light from the burning ships, they could count up to twenty ships. And if they could find that much with that little light, then who knows how big this fleet could be?

Also, what could they possibly be doing here in DunBroch? Why attack the strongest part of the DunBroch kingdom rather than one of the clans? Unless…

"Wait. If they're here and not attacking the clans, maybe…" Merida trailed off before she could finish her line, not knowing what to say. "Oh no."

"What?" Fergus asks.

Merida shook her head, clearing her mind of that thought. "No. They couldn't possibly have taken over the clans first. We would've known."

Just then, they realized that the firing has stopped on both sides. Neither side was attacking, probably in fear that they would get decimated by the other. Neither side has lost much. While one side lost nothing except for some people's favorite patch of grass, the other side has lost two ships. But, judging by the number of ships Merida and Fergus spotted out there, two lost ships was close to nothing.

The two sides were at a temporary ceasefire at the moment as Hiccup came soaring back to the castle on Toothless. Merida and Fergus rode back up, Fergus giving out an order to ready the ships.

Just then, a straight line of projectiles came flying their way, setting off the alarm. Hiccup landed near Merida, in the castle, leaving Angus in the stables.

"Need a ride?" says Hiccup.

Merida, without speaking, mounted Toothless behind Hiccup. As she locked into place, Toothless took off, although not too rough for Merida to handle.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll try not to take it too extreme," says Hiccup in an insecure tone. Merida raised an eyebrow, knowing that he definitely wouldn't be taking it gently. Not when an entire civilization is on the line.

They swooped down toward the ships, watching as another line of catapults let loose their projectiles. Holding her bow, Merida took aim at one of the catapults, searching for an opening to shoot at. Meanwhile, Toothless took out one of them with a quick shot before pulling back up, hidden by the night sky. He's not called a Night Fury for nothing.

Still, Merida couldn't find any openings, any targets to shoot at. Everything was either too strong to withstand an arrow or too secluded in a spot impossible to get with a bow and arrow.

Toothless fired straight down, easily taking out one of the catapults, while Hiccup sprayed the explosive gas onto a number of ships. It wasn't much, but setting fire to a wooden ship would definitely get something done. Delay the attackers, at the very least.

Just in the nick of time, Hiccup capped Inferno, stopping the flow of gas onto the ships right before seeing a spark somewhere on the ship. He quickly pulled up, the explosion missing just missing them.

Another shot, and Toothless took out another catapult, the launcher going down in pieces. Night Furies. They never show themselves, and they never miss… at least when put up against the enemy.

It was pretty much the same cycle the whole way through. Fire, pull up, set a gas trap, and fire again. Rinse and repeat until some activity told them otherwise. It continued until the sun broke over the horizon, everyone attempting to find them getting lost in the process. But at the break of dawn, with the world lighting up, it would become easy to spot them.

Once it was bright enough to see everything, Merida found about fifteen ships pulling away from the kingdom.

Figuring that they were retreating, Hiccup quickly landed near the castle, looking down as they continued to sail away.


	3. All in One Place

The kingdom disappeared behind the thickness of the trees, Rapunzel giving one last look at the place. Is she ever going to be able to come back? Is Corona finished, or are they planning on using that place to do… whatever they're doing?

"Where do we go now?" asks Rapunzel, staring upward as they rode into a clearing. They've been up all night, as shown by the sun beginning to break over the horizon. "I don't even know what that was."

Eugene took a deep breath in preparation to answer, but thought otherwise. Not even he nor Maximus knew where they were supposed to go, neither did they know who they were. The tower? No, as safe as the place is, they'll find them eventually. If they want to get away from them, they'll have to keep going.

Suddenly, the ground opened in front of them, Maximus putting on the brakes just in time, inches from the hole. Fortunately, no one went flying off, but Rapunzel did end up planting her face onto Max's neck. Jack rolled off, inches from the opening in the ground.

But the opening wasn't a huge crack in the earth that went on for miles, like an earthquake. Instead, it was just a hole in the earth, perfectly circular. Jack knew what this was, and glanced over to Rapunzel and Eugene, who were too interested in seeing what could possibly be down there. He dove at the two of them, sending them out of harm's way right before a figure shot out of the tunnel.

"Bunny!" exclaims Jack, shocked to see him here, even if Christmas was in a few days. "What… what are you… doing here?"

The Pooka leaned up against a nearby tree, taking his boomerang out from his single–strap holster. His grayish–blue fur stood out in the forest as he towered over the three of them, standing at a stable six-foot one.

"Getting you out of here, mate," he replies with his typical thick Australian accent. The tunnel behind him patched itself up, a small flower growing where the gaping hole once was.

The jaws of Rapunzel and Eugene dropped as they dismounted Maximus, but the two Guardians continued to ignore them for the time being. Even Maximus was confused, but he stood planted as there was nothing around to pick up.

Jack just gave him a puzzled look. "And why exactly are you not at your Warren, Cottontail?"

"Hey, Christmas is in a few days," replies Bunnymund, leaning against a tree and fiddling with his boomerang. "North can't save you guys for now."

Eugene just stepped in between the two, gesturing at both of them. "How… what…" He was definitely shocked to see a talking near–seven–foot tall rabbit, but finding out that Jack knew him just added to the shock level. "You two know each other?" he asks in a demanding voice.

"Long story," says Bunnymund curtly before turning back to Jack. "Anyway, found you guys a place."

"And how am I supposed to know you're not some guy leading us to our own demise?" blurts out Eugene. He definitely wasn't trusting him.

"Why would I do that if your home's just been taken over?" Bunnymund shoots back.

Silence. If Bunnymund knew about what happened back there at Corona, why didn't he do anything about it? Was he just too late to arrive? Did he not know about what happened there until after it happened, and he just now found out?

"Look, mate. Are you going to spend the next week in this forest dodging poisonous berries, or are you going to trust me?"

Jack just chuckled. "And take us to your Warren? Sorry, but that's just not for me. Neither do I think it's for Punzie here or Eugene. Besides, we were going to some tower I found earlier and—,"

"Yes, THAT tower. Nah, I got you guys a much better place than that old thing. Besides, what's even up there? No one's been inside it for uh… how long, exactly?" says Bunny, turning to Rapunzel.

"Long enough," she mutters.

"Beats being in that tower," bursts out Eugene. What, did his distrust suddenly disappear, or was he just attracted by the fact that he wouldn't have to be out here taking refuge in that tower? "Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel has barely talked ever since Bunnymund arrived, and she isn't really well-known for keeping her mouth shut. She often doesn't hesitate to blurt out a few words if she ever disagreed with anything.

"Well," she starts with a nervous voice, "if it means a place to stay, then I'll take it, thank you."

Bunnymund laughed, Jack still not trusting him fully. He still was thinking Bunnymund was going to send them to the Warren, trying to get back at him for all he's done. Jack drove his staff into the ground in frustration, freezing everything within a five foot radius. It missed Bunnymund by mere inches while Rapunzel and Eugene were already standing well clear.

The group stood together in a clearing, Rapunzel just pondering over what might happen to them.

"Well? What now?" Eugene asks impatiently.

"See you there," says Bunnymund in a low voice, tapping his foot twice against the ground.

Suddenly, a huge gaping hole opened up in the earth, just like the one Bunnymund took to get here. It swallowed up the whole group, followed shortly by Bunnymund before it closed up.

Rapunzel and Eugene both screamed as they slid through the tunnel system to their destination. Jack, having taken the tunnels before, remained as calm as he could as they neared their destination. The tunnels took no time at all to use. In the blink of an eye, they had reached their destination.

They all emerged in front of a large stone castle, of no design familiar to anyone. Bunnymund bounded straight into the forest behind them, right out of sight.

* * *

As the morning sun shone proudly over DunBroch, everyone in the kingdom could only feel relieved that their home wasn't destroyed. The strangers weren't of anyone they knew, their designs unknown to everyone. Knowing it wasn't one of the clans, it was simply impossible to find out who it was. Several suggested that the culprits were Vikings, but Merida easily turned that down. Knowing Hiccup, there was no way his village could have attacked them.

Looking out from one of the towers, Merida could spot several figures across the bridge. Three of humans, one of a horse. She could've sworn she saw a fourth figure, one with large ears, judging from its shadow, but it quickly disappeared behind the tree line. At first, she thought the horse was Angus, but seeing that it was fully white rather than jet–black with tones of ivory at the fetlocks, she highly doubted it was Angus. Also, she didn't remember letting Angus out of the stables between the attack and now.

Two of the three figures possessed short brown hair, while the other had… white? But he looked so young. He held a shepherd's crook in one hand as he stared up at the castle.

Merida sprinted downstairs to Hiccup, who was still with Toothless at the stables, much to Angus's annoyance. The horse and the dragon didn't really go well together, as Angus always kept his distance, sometimes pinning himself against a wall to avoid Toothless, even though it was plain obvious that Toothless wouldn't attack.

"Bunny!" the white–haired boy calls out, looking back at the trees. But whoever he was looking for couldn't be seen, as he searched helplessly through the trees.

Merida ran alongside Hiccup to the front gates, requesting to be let outside. The guards obliged, allowing the two out. Soon, they found themselves facing the three people and one horse that stood on the other side of the bridge, planted to the ground.

"Jack," starts the girl, who was dressed in a fresh purple gown.

"Rapunzel," the white–haired boy says back, dismounting their horse. He was the first to take a step onto the stone bridge, a thin ice lining it as his staff made contact with the ground. More ice built up on the bridge, coating the mossy stone in a thin light blue.

Hiccup stepped onto the bridge, his prosthetic foot slipping straight forward upon contact. His other leg was forced straight forward before his prosthetic came up. His butt landed on the bridge, on the ice covering it.

Jack twirled his staff before confronting Hiccup, pulling the brunette up with a cold touch. But coming from a place that's always cold, it was something he barely took note of.

The others followed, despite their horse having some trouble slipping and sliding on the bridge. Eventually, he was able to get his bearings and crossed the bridge before there was an opportunity for him to topple over the edge. Seeing how Hiccup and their horse slipped, the short brown–haired couple crossed the bridge gingerly, one step at a time. A small chameleon attempted to hide itself behind Rapunzel's neck, but it didn't really go that far, as she fished it out from behind.

"Pascal, he brought us here," says Rapunzel.

Rather than saying anything, Merida just turned her back and headed back inside. She nodded to the more alert guard, Martin on the other side snoozing as usual. Hiccup shrugged to them, unsure of Merida's decision to remain silent.

Upon noticing the guard, Jack chuckled to himself. He sent a small amount of ice under his feet before creating a spike to pin him up against the wall. Hiccup gave a weak smile, while Rapunzel tried her best to look away. Who knew what would happen to him when he woke up? He would be pinned to the wall, and then the moment he would be set free, he would slip and fall bottom–first on the grass.

As the doors creaked behind them, Martin jolted awake. He pulled out the spike from his clothes and instantly fell to the grass. He searched every spot possible, thinking that it was those troublemaker triplets again. Jack watched through the slowly closing gates, laughing as the guard came up with nothing every time he checked a spot.

After catching up with the others, he ended up in the stables, where Angus still stood.

"Leave him here, Eugene," says Rapunzel, placing her hand on his shoulder. Surely, he meant the horse, proudly wearing the medallion that read, 'Maximus.'

The pair of horses looked romantic, the jet–black one with an ivory muzzle and fetlocks paired with the white one with a blonde tail and mane. Of course, they were put in separate stalls. Since DunBroch is now housing refugees, they're going to need whatever they can get. Another horse is a huge addition, and little did they know how intelligent he was.

Just then, Toothless bounded over to them, attention turned mostly to Rapunzel. Rather than the unsure or aggressive look he usually possessed when confronting strangers, he looked rather curious. Eugene and Jack stepped out nervously, and with Maximus already locked up in a stall, Rapunzel was all alone to face the Night Fury. Her past experience with animals was part of the reason why Eugene left her alone; she was amazing with them.

Confident, the two crept up toward each other, Hiccup watching on the sideline. He was just there in case it became ugly, but judging by the way the two looked, it wasn't very necessary.

Rapunzel reached out, reaching out her hand for Toothless, who, without hesitating, pressed his nose onto it. Hiccup was amazed at how quickly Rapunzel was able to get Toothless to cooperate. She was so fast she even contested him, but he did try his best not to feel jealous. Eugene was also shocked, even after seeing Rapunzel tame animals in mere seconds before. He was thinking a dragon would be at least a little more complicated.

Rapunzel gave Toothless a scratch behind the ears, sending him into a wave of infatuation. It just felt too good for him to worry about anything.

"Try it here," says Hiccup, pointing under Toothless's chin.

After a short pause, Rapunzel reached under Toothless's chin and scratched him there. Toothless froze suddenly before falling to the floor, a massive grin spread across his face. Hiccup and Rapunzel laughed while everyone else was still in shock from how quickly Rapunzel was able to handle him.

The three were led inside by Merida, but rather than meeting everyone, Merida just guided them to a small bedroom. More than likely, it was hers. She laughed lightly before closing the door, realizing that her room was probably a bad idea. Instead, she took them to a different room, one unoccupied at the moment.

"Can't let them see you before they know about you," was Merida's only reason for not taking them around the place first. After Hiccup, she made sure to be extra careful when bringing in guests.

But these aren't guests. These are refugees. They're not to stay here for two or three days. No, they're probably staying here for weeks— perhaps even months or years until they find a better place.

Merida shut the door behind them as they settled into the room, catching a glimpse of Rapunzel diving onto the bed. She turned around, finding Hiccup near the end of the long hallway.

"Shouldn't you be getting home, lad?" she blurts out instantly. He has been here for almost a whole day, after all.

"Nah," replies Hiccup, shaking his head slightly. "Snoggletog isn't for another four days, I just need to be back for that."

Meaning he has about another two whole days left here before he would have to leave.

"Winter months, eh?" Merida asks. "Always the toughest."

"And when the chief is out, the matter becomes even more difficult. But they'll manage." Hiccup was awfully confident about this. If he thinks a whole village can handle itself without a chief, then he must either have much faith in his friends, or he's just downright crazy.

The rest of the day passed, no attacks that day. They must be preparing for a bigger, near–unbeatable attack. One doesn't expect it to take one day to do that.

The sky went dark once again, torches around the village and castle being set alight one after the other. Jack, Rapunzel, and Eugene spent the entire day getting familiar to their new home, learning their style. Unfortunately, Jack did instead spend most of his time playing with the triplets, Merida eventually learning he was just like them. Causing mischief, making a mess of things. No surprise there, but with a new addition to that gang, it's become near impossible to get back at them. It was a nightmare especially for Maudie, who couldn't even walk down a hallway without being tripped up by one of them.

Hiccup stared up to the night sky from atop a tower, watching the moon shine down on him, big and bright.

"He put me here, in this position," says a voice from behind Hiccup.

Hiccup whipped around to find Jack, big blue eyes staring at him. He held a slight smirk on his face, holding his staff in one hand. He leaned on a wall in the doorway, one foot rested on the hard stone.

"Who?" Hiccup asks.

"The moon. Or Man in Moon," answers Jack.

"And where exactly?"

Jack let out a fake chuckle. "It's a bit complicated. I can show you though. Get your dragon. You'll need him."

Hiccup nodded before moving, the spring on his prosthetic leg making a loud metallic sound as he walked. It reached through the doors, and in the dead of night, it was nearly impossible to miss.

Despite being in separate rooms, Hiccup's clanking did end up grabbing the attention of both Merida and Rapunzel. Both of them couldn't sleep that night, after the two attacks on their kingdoms. Rapunzel left a sleeping Eugene Fitzherbert alone with Pascal in her room.

"Oh. So you two are suddenly interested now," says Hiccup as he notices the two leaning through the doorway. Merida was rubbing her eyes, bow missing. Rapunzel's hands were also empty. "Or maybe you just want a ride." He chuckled lightly.

"I do!" blurts out Rapunzel excitedly.

"Quiet!" whispers Merida loudly.

"Sorry."

Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless, locking his prosthetic leg into position. He scanned the saddle, making sure nothing was loose or frayed before saying anything.

"Hop on," says Hiccup, holding his hand out to Rapunzel.

Fearlessly, Rapunzel took his hand and climbed on. What's with this girl? Usually someone would look nervous when their first flight on a dragon is approaching, but she looked more eager. Not to mention how easily she was able to get along with Toothless earlier.

Merida, having already flown with Toothless, opted out and decided to watch from atop the castle walls. She met up with Jack along the way, finding him relaxed, like he was waiting for something.

"And you'll want to hold on," says Hiccup's voice from below.

It all came so sudden. One second, they were on the ground. The next, Rapunzel was twenty feet in the air, still climbing upward. Screaming at first, it quickly turned into bursts of laughter as they soared through the night sky. Hiccup stared up to the moon, wondering what Jack meant when he said the moon put him where he is.

Searching for Jack, Rapunzel found him standing beside Merida atop one of the towers. The wind picked up slightly, blowing their direction, Hiccup trying to maneuver around the changing wind patterns.

"Okay wind," whispers Jack, grabbing Merida's attention. Merida turned her head, staring at him like he was crazy.

Jack twirled his staff before he sprung straight up, taking to the skies like he always did. Merida's jaw dropped, seeing Jack only rising up to the clouds. To find that Jack can literally chase the wind and touch the sky was a huge thing.

Hiccup received even a bigger surprise than Merida, finding Jack soaring right above them. Having grown up away from anything magical, he wasn't an expert, wasn't used to strange things like this. Flying with nothing was impressive, to say the least.

He smiled, watching Jack maneuver the wind patterns perfectly, like he was controlling it. Toothless followed, everyone in the air having a blast, although they did make sure not to wake up anyone inside the castle. Waking someone at night could make him or her irritable, resulting in a possibly ugly outcome.

Hiccup felt sorry for Merida, knowing she was still on the ground and not up here to enjoy all of this. Toothless dropped altitude a bit, Rapunzel's arms outstretched toward the clouds. Jack pulled up beside them, riding the wind like a surfboard. His back was pointed at the ground as he held a smug grin on his face. His staff was held in his right hand as usual.

"So this is what you meant," says Hiccup. Having not grown up around magic, he knew nothing about how it worked other than the fact that it existed. And worse, he only found out magic really existed yesterday.

Jack nodded. "Yep, and sometimes I just hate it."

Hiccup gave him a puzzled look. "Why? If you can fly on your own without anything, how could you hate it?"

"Because no one can see me. No one believes in me. Except for a few…"

"Well, I can see you. Everyone here can see you," mentions Hiccup.

"That's different," Jack counters. "Three hundred years no one was able to see me."

Hiccup just gritted his teeth before looking forward. He looked back at Jack, finding that he was not paying any attention at all to where he was going. Lightly he smirked, staring at Jack.

"Uh…" begins Rapunzel.

"Wall," says Hiccup right before they collided with the stone walls of the castle. Toothless quickly pulled up, appearing right in front of Merida before ascending further.

Jack, on the other hand, wasn't on the lucky side. He instead crashed headfirst into the stone wall of the castle with a loud thud. Rapunzel grimaced at the sight along with Merida as Jack was pressed flat onto the wall. Surprised that no one woke up, Jack took to the skies once again.

"Okay, you got me," says Jack, grinning. "You devil."

Rapunzel just smiled to find Jack catching up to them. They ascended slightly before leveling off just under the clouds.

"Trust him with this one," says Hiccup, unbuckling his own prosthetic leg from the saddle. "He'll just glide down."

"Wha—," starts Rapunzel before Hiccup dove straight down, headfirst. Everyone watched as the distance between him and the lake closed. Toothless dove after him, the wind blowing straight into Rapunzel's face.

Hiccup slipped his hands through the cuffs on the side of his suit. They locked around his wrists, signifying that it was safe to go ahead.

Suddenly, Hiccup stretched out his arms like a bird, causing most to think he was crazy. Only someone who was drunk would actually spread their arms out like they were wings, expecting to be able to fly.

But what they didn't know was that his suit was specially built for flight. To fly on his own alongside Toothless. Between his arms and side was leather, thin and light enough for flight.

His body shot straight up in a similar fashion to Jack's as he eventually pulled into a smooth glide near Jack. He pressed his shoulder, activated a spring on his back, revealing a fin.

Everyone was impressed to find how one little guy like Hiccup, as small as he was to be called a 'Viking,' was able to pull off something like this. Without magic as well.

Or maybe impressed was an understatement. More like cast away. No one could take their eyes off him as he soared through the skies, as if he was putting Jack Frost to shame.

Jack just smirked, having a fun time above everything and everyone else. His center was fun, after all. It's what makes him a Guardian. He caught sight of Toothless firing shots at Hiccup, the bolts exploding in the air in a cloud of fire.

Trying to find a way to remount Toothless in midair, Hiccup began descending to the ground. A bit too far he went, leveling off in front of the forest when he realized it wasn't working. The situation quickly turned from exhilarating to frightening as Hiccup couldn't find a way to remount Toothless. He still hasn't made the necessary modifications Valka suggested in order to make tight turns, so turning away or landing was already out of the picture. His only chance was to catch Toothless in the air. He's done it before, but never with a passenger.

Hiccup leaned over to the right, achieving nothing in the process. As the branches approached closer, he found both Jack and Toothless making a beeline straight for him. Unfortunately, both held back in an attempt to avoid a collision with each other.

Having already given up, Hiccup bent his elbows, completely destroying his flight pattern. Managing to find a tree branch, he held onto it for dear life as he searched for a safe way down.

He found several indents on the trunk, perfect for making a decent handhold or foothold. Looking down, he watched as a dark blur bounced across his vision before disappearing in the undergrowth just as quickly as it appeared.

Brushing it off as another forest critter, Hiccup slowly paced himself down the large tree trunk. He still impressed himself with what he could do. Five years ago, he wouldn't even be able to operate the very sword he had now.

He continued up the hill, navigating through the low–hanging branches as they brushed his face. As he went, he deactivated the flight mechanism on his suit, the leather between his arms and side folding up. He also struggled to deactivate the fin on his back, which was still clearly visible. Maybe deploying it was easy, but resetting it wasn't

"Oh," a voice whispered loudly. It was like a forest spirit calling for him, like someone wanting him to venture deeper into the forest.

He turned, and was suddenly reminded of something Merida had told him last night. Something called a will–o'–the–wisp, if he remembered its name correctly. The light, tiny blue flame floated further in the forest, unmoving. Hiccup reached out for it before some rustling in the bushes snapped him out of his train of thought.

"Hiccup!" Rapunzel's voice sounds throughout the forest, able to be heard by anyone inside no matter where in the maze of trees they may be. Merida came hustling in, her wild red hair settling again after being blown by the wind. She was followed shortly by Rapunzel, who was relieved to find that Hiccup was alright.

Hiccup's head snapped toward the two of them as they stood at around the same height. "I'm fine. Really," he says, pretending to inspect his flight suit. He turned back to where he saw the wisp. It was gone. Toothless suddenly appeared through the trees, nudging at Hiccup's back. Hiccup patted his head as a way to tell him he was fine.

"Now, my question is: Why are you still even here?" says Jack's voice somewhere in the forest. It grabbed everyone's attention, as everyone's eyes seemed to shoot straight up. "I mean, the Warren getting boring for you?"

"No. Just to make sure you don't get anyone hurt doing stupid things like that back there!" says another voice, one Rapunzel knew. Bunny.

"We're just having fun."

"You call jumping off a dragon when you're hundreds of feet in the air fun?" Bunnymund shoots at Jack.

"Oh, and I wouldn't assume you know what it's like to fly on your own. Heck, you never even dared to fly until that attack at the Tooth Palace!" Jack shoots back. "Plus, you still being here even further proves that you really do care."

Bunnymund just groaned. "Ah, maybe you're right, mate. But still. That's how people get themselves killed. And if there's something I don't want to see, it's young people killing themselves!"

Jack stifled a laughter. "Right, Peter Cottontail."

The two continued to argue as Merida noticed something outside the forest. It looked like a number of golden floating trails floating down to the kingdom, splitting off into multiple segments as it neared the place.

"Hey. Come look at this," says Merida, grabbing the attention of Hiccup and Rapunzel. Both were fully engrossed the second they saw them, the argument between Bunnymund and Jack completely drowned out as the trails spread throughout the place.

The golden trails approached the three of them, soon within arm's reach of everyone. Curious, Merida was the first one to reach her hand out at the trail.

Upon contact, the trail reformed itself, like sand. Part of it gathered together to create a bow and several arrows, while the other end formed some distance away to make a target, easy to shoot at.

She drew back the golden bow, feeling as if it were her real bow. It felt just like it, she barely noticed any differences concerning its size and string stiffness. She took a deep breath before she released the arrow. She watched the golden head fly across the lake, hitting the target square in the center. It dissolved completely, reforming in a different location. This time, above her. Not where Merida can shoot perpendicular to the ground, rather forcing Merida to actually shoot at an angle.

The target dissolved once again the second the head of the arrow made contact with it, reforming in a completely different location. It happened every time, the target sometimes reforming in out–of–the–ordinary spots. Behind her. To her right. In the forest. On top of a tree. Even on the side of the bridge, which was probably the most challenging shot she faced. But as good as an archer she was, she hit every target square in the center, right on the bull's–eye. No surprise if she was the best archer around.

The second she hit the target with her last arrow, everything dissolved in golden sand, from the bow to the target. The sand continued to stream around everyone, trailing off into the forest. Merida was off laughing, a full–on smile spread across her face.

Just realizing how tired he was, Hiccup let out a loud yawn, arms outstretched. "I've really got to go get some sleep. I've barely gotten any in the past two days," he says. His eyes fluttered shut as he began dozing off, suddenly coming back to attention thanks to Toothless, who nudged him toward the castle. His prosthetic tail fin was still set so he could fly on his own, but he didn't seem to mind. Hiccup quickly deactivated it, the tail fin folding up.

It only took one step, and sleep took over completely. Not only for Hiccup, but Rapunzel and Merida as well. They all just collapsed by the stone bridge, unconscious. Toothless nuzzled the unconscious Hiccup, not knowing what just happened.

"No, so—," starts Jack as he emerged from the forest along with Bunnymund, only to find Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Merida all fast asleep. Golden sand images floated above their heads, showing exactly what their dream was. Jack groaned, watching the golden streams of sand in the kingdom. "And that's how they fall asleep. Playing with the Dreamsand, are they?"

Bunnymund hauled Hiccup requiring Jack's help to do so. Toothless wouldn't let him take Hiccup that easily, so Jack was forced to show him he meant no harm. "Of course they were. Where is Sandy anyway?" He glanced over to Toothless who was standing back, watching Bunnymund carry Hiccup.

"No idea," says Jack, carrying Rapunzel and Merida. "Well, I'm going to get these two in the castle."

"And this one?" Bunnymund gestured to Hiccup.

"Find someplace inside to put him," answers Jack lazily.

The two crossed the bridge, Toothless following. Getting into the castle was the easy part.

They were now in the stables, where Toothless lay down. Bunny set Hiccup down there, his head propped up on Toothless's side. Jack continued throughout the castle, trying to find Merida's room. He knew that Rapunzel was to be sleeping in the same room Merida brought them to when they first arrived. He dropped her off there first, sneaking past a sleeping Eugene and Pascal.

Now carrying only Merida, Jack scanned the castle, quietly checking the rooms for one with an empty bed. Unfortunately, it wasn't until he reached one of the last rooms until he found an empty bed for Merida. He quietly set her down on top of the sheets before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

Finding an easy way out of the castle by jumping off a castle wall, Jack headed back into the forest in order to retrieve his staff, which wasn't really well hidden. It easily stuck out of the bush, and the curve on the shepherd's crook was clearly visible. Watching as the last of the Dreamsand trailed into the kingdom, he entered the castle once again, watching the bright moon from a watchtower.

With the morning sun shining brightly, Hiccup's eyes slowly fluttered open to find that he was in the stables. The last thing he remembered was Merida playing with the Dreamsand last night.

So far, in his time here, he felt just at home. Even though they were completely different, the place just had its homely feel to it, like he didn't want to leave.

But he will have to.

Snoggletog is in three days.


	4. Flee

Merida grabbed an apple before entering another room, finding Elinor inside. She was holding a few letters, some containing the emblems of the other clans of the kingdom. A rock for Dingwall, a lyre for Macintosh, and a cauldron for MacGuffin.

Merida, not wanting any part of this, quickly spun around and went the other way, leaving Elinor alone in the room.

"It's not betrothal," says Elinor without looking up from the letters.

 _Well, that's good to know,_  Merida thinks to herself, taking a bite out of her apple. She dropped into the stables, where Hiccup and Eugene were feeding Toothless and Maximus respectively.

"You're leaving later today, right?" Merida asks Hiccup.

Hiccup just sighed. "Yeah."

"Well, you could always just drop by every now and then if—,"

"When you're chief of the tribe?" Hiccup interrupts Merida mid–sentence. "Sorry, but when a place is one and a half days from home and you're a chief, it's pretty tough to even get enough time to get there, let alone getting back."

Merida gritted her teeth. "I would know from past experiences."

Rapunzel barged into the stables, opening the door ferociously. "Anyone seen Jack lately?"

Silence. No one has seen Jack since last night. But everyone outside could hear slight cheers from below.

"What is…?" Merida starts, heading out of the castle. At the ports, she found three ships carrying a load of people. Each ship contained a banner, the emblems representing the other clans in the kingdom.

 _Is that why mum was holding those letters?_  Merida thinks. They're calling up the lords after just one measly attack on DunBroch? There haven't been any signs of them ever since they fled.

Suddenly, Jack flew straight into the stables, landing softly on the grass. "Any explanation, Merida?"

"Clans. Someone called them up," Merida answers Jack. "I think we should be fine."

After a while, they watched as the lords and clan members marched proudly into the castle. There were three groups. One was led by a shorter, older looking man with messy white hair, and a mustache. He wore mostly brown and green with that red face of his, and he also appeared to be missing a few teeth. Above him was the emblem of a rock, of Dingwall. His son stood beside him, and from his appearance, he somehow resembled Hiccup from before dragons moved into Berk. Awkward, dreamy, and weak. Not to mention he was son of a lord, like Hiccup was the son of the former chief of Berk.

Another clan was led by a taller man, bearing blue war paint on his body. His chest was always puffed out, and he always held a savage smile on his face. His son had wavy brown hair and sported the same blue war paint on one of his arms. Maidens squealed as he strutted by them, showboating. The emblem of Macintosh flew above them. Merida groaned as Young Macintosh moved past her, easily showing that she was not interested in anyone.

The third clan was led by a burly man with a stature similar to that of Fergus's. He was larger than the other two lords, and he looked much stronger as well. The younger one beside him, while bearing the same stature, looked to be calm, shy, and more mature compared to the other two clans. MacGuffin.

Hiccup watched from on top of the castle for the safety of Toothless, while everyone else watched from the crowd. He held Inferno in hand without deploying it, just in case something went wrong as the other three clans assembled in the Great Hall.

"Twice in one year. Must be some new record," says someone in Dingwall. He earned several nods from those marching beside him.

The sun was directly overhead, meaning it was about noon. There's still time. If it takes one and a half days to get to Berk from DunBroch, and Snoggletog is in two and a half days, he really wouldn't have to leave until evening. Hiccup decided to stay behind and watch this 'meeting.'

"Hey. Any explanation why there's so many cocky looking people lining up?" says a voice from behind Hiccup.

Hiccup turned around to find Eugene standing there, watching as the lords and their clans lined up in the Great Hall. He held an apple in one hand while the other rested on a wall. "Safety measures, I'm guessing," Hiccup says.

Hiccup headed down to the stables, where Toothless was busy digging into a pile of fish in front of him. He decided to leave Toothless there for safety reasons. If one of the lords so much as sees him, someone ends up dead.

Hiccup entered the Great Hall to find Rapunzel, Eugene, and Jack all standing there, beside the devilish triplets. Elinor sat next to them with Fergus on her left, while Merida sat beside her father. She used her foot to move her bow along with a quiver behind her chair and out of sight.

The whole crowd separated into three groups, one for each of the clans. Dingwall to the left, Macintosh in the middle, and MacGuffin right in front of the triplets. Each of the lords stood at the front alongside their sons.

"So! Uh… I'm pretty sure you all know why you're here!" says Fergus, addressing the crowd.

"Not really," blurts out Lord Dingwall.

Fergus just went on, turning a deaf ear at Dingwall. "Two days ago, uh… DunBroch was uh…"

Merida groaned, irritated by the fact that her father couldn't come up with the right word. She knew Fergus always had trouble with public speaking, but this was just embarrassing. "Attacked," she finishes for her father.

"Attacked!" Fergus repeats after her, acting as if Merida said nothing.

"Well, does someone have trouble addressing a crowd," Rapunzel whispers to Eugene and Hiccup. The three of them just chuckled.

"And I'm already bored listening to this," Eugene adds, causing them to laugh even harder.

MacGuffin stepped up this time. "And by who? Vikings again?"

Hiccup, upon hearing Lord MacGuffin's remark, stepped up against him. "Hey! Who says Vikings would attack this place?"

MacGuffin stifled a laughter. "Of course they do. My son, having scuttled the Viking long ships, would know."

Young MacGuffin spoke up in a dialect impossible to understand by anyone. Upon having the room go silent, Young Macintosh just chuckled.

"I have no idea," he says, trying to speak in a sexy voice. It wasn't really working that well. Merida showed no interest for him compared to the maidens.

In fact, Merida showed no interest for any of the sons of the lords, although it was plain obvious that Wee Dingwall was interested. One could look into the boy's dreamy eyes and know it.

Hiccup turned back toward the others, who were watching nervously.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Rapunzel whispers to herself.

Still holding Inferno in hand without deploying it, Hiccup headed back over and assumed his original position.

The triplets took a secret passage under the floor, emerging from one of the tiles in the floor. They were next to a man's foot, a member of Clan Macintosh. A Dingwall member stood beside him. He towered over the triplets, completely unaware that they were right there next to him. The shadows cast over them only made them even more difficult to spot.

"Viking scum!" yells Lord MacGuffin.

"That's it!" Hiccup bursts out, deploying inferno. Rapunzel and Eugene quickly lunged forward, grabbing each of Hiccup's arms.

Most of the crowd backed off upon seeing Inferno. The triplets, not having been spotted yet, prepared to strike. One of them held a club, and he drew it back, ready for the place to break into an all–out brawl.

Elinor rose to her feet. "Now, if you would all please calm down, I—,"

She was cut off by a scream coming from the Clan Macintosh section. Disturbed by the sudden outburst, a member of Dingwall delivered him a hit square to the cheek. More and more members of each of the clans began to join in to the brawl. It became tougher and tougher to move around with every passing second. Any attempt to move through the crowd would probably result in a lost tooth.

Hiccup laughed nervously, backing off from the brawl. "I'll opt out of this one," he says, sheathing Inferno. "Besides, I don't want to leave tonight with a broken leg and—,"

"SHUT IT!" a voice shouts over the entire hall. Fergus laughed lightly at Merida's sudden outburst. Upon hearing the voice, everyone returned to their normal spots in the room, leaving a few things like broken tables just laying there.

Finding that the triplets have somehow returned to their original spots behind Elinor, Merida knew that there wouldn't be any fighting breaking out for some time. But it's sometimes hard to stop it when the four clans used to be at war with each other, uniting only when Invaders from the North came.

Jack and Rapunzel exchanged glances before focusing their eyes on Merida. She stomped in front of everyone, holding their attention.

"Now you think this is the games for winning my hand again?" she starts. "No! This isn't some game. This is a serious matter!"

"Wow. Someone can get really ill–tempered at times," whispers Rapunzel, causing everyone around her to stifle a laughter.

Hiccup kept a close eye on MacGuffin before turning and leaving. He didn't want to get involved with any affairs between the clans. Doing so would only drag himself into the conflict. Rapunzel and Jack watched as he left before turning back to the now–calm crowd.

As Hiccup entered the stables, he found Toothless waiting patiently along with Maximus and a still–annoyed Angus. Pascal rested atop Max's head, watching everything inside the stables, including Toothless and Angus.

With the afternoon sun shining high, Hiccup stepped outside the castle with Toothless, admiring the scenery to take a breather. Sure, MacGuffin's past with Vikings wasn't pretty, judging from his words, but maybe that's what Hiccup has to deal with. Convince MacGuffin that Vikings aren't always who they think they are.

But something fought him against trying that. He's made an attempt to try to change Drago's mind about dragons. It didn't work out so well. Who's to say trying to convince MacGuffin that Vikings weren't so cruel would work?

"Hiccup," says a voice from behind him. Hiccup turned to find Merida walking up toward him. "Some outburst back there."

What's she doing? Hiccup may have just completely blown any chance at peace between Berk and DunBroch by responding to MacGuffin. Why is Merida, the princess of DunBroch, complimenting him? Yet again, MacGuffin already hated Vikings to begin with…

"Hey," says Hiccup in a quiet voice.

Rapunzel and Eugene quickly joined them, Pascal now resting on Rapunzel's shoulder. The chameleon stared at Hiccup after seeing how he just dropped by, grabbed Toothless, and left.

Hiccup ran his hand across the wall, feeling the rough stone on his smooth skin. "Well, that was stupid of me. I'm doing nothing but increasing tensions between MacGuffin and Vikings.

"MacGuffin doesn't matter," says Eugene.

Hiccup just glanced up at him, surprised at his statement. "Of course they matter."

"Okay, so maybe they do in your mindset, but they're not the only ones there. Do you ever just give up when something devastating happens?"

"No, but that's—,"

"Well, do you stop doing things just because someone told you so?"

Man. He is unknowingly digging into Hiccup's past. His dark past, before he met Toothless. Back then, when Vikings were still at war with dragons.

"No," says Hiccup.

"Then the exact thing with Lord MacGuffin. He called you 'Viking scum.' So who cares what he says? They're nothing more than just mere words."

Hiccup looked up at him in a slightly better mood. Why was he acting like it all over? He didn't give up and say, "I'm done," when his secret was revealed to the entire village. He didn't just raise his arms in surrender to Drago after losing his father while also on the brink of losing Toothless to the Alpha. So why should he give in to MacGuffin now?

"Anyone seen Jack lately?" asks Rapunzel.

"Probably hanging out with the wee devils again," answers Merida.

"What, you guys weren't with him when you left? And he's gone again?" says Hiccup.

"He left shortly after you did. And yes. He's gone again," says Rapunzel.

Hiccup just sighed. "Well, I'm going flying before I leave later today."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," says Eugene, pointing to the Great Hall. He obviously meant the three clans, knowing that they would probably try to shoot him down if they saw him.

"Right," says Hiccup, sighing. "Sorry bud. Not until we leave."

As far as keeping Toothless away from the other clans went, Hiccup couldn't find even two minutes of time to just relax with nothing to worry about. Although they did spend most of their time with Fergus in the Great Hall, there was always the occasional guy who roamed out of the hall.

Looking out to the lake with Toothless, Hiccup could find several ships floating above the surface. He was about to let it off as just the ships the clans took here if he didn't catch sight of those too. The clans' ships were there of course, but all of them were pulled up at the dock, not floating further out. Also, the ships that were further out seemed to be in a triangular formation with slightly larger ones in the middle.

There weren't too many to count, but it was still scary to look at that many ships inching toward the kingdom. The lords couldn't see it. They were all in the Great Hall, Fergus most likely making sad attempts to entertain them like the last time they came.

"Hey, Merida, there's something you might want to see," says Hiccup as he stepped into the stables.

In less than fifteen seconds, Merida was rushing down with Hiccup outside the castle, reaching the stone bridge in no time. Merida looked down to the lake, finding the same ships from the other night they were attacked. The sky was just then beginning to darken.

"Shouldn't you be going?" Merida asks Hiccup.

"Can I? With them down there? I don't really think so," answers Hiccup. What, is it because Hiccup would get shot down because his flight path is right above them, or is it because he doesn't want to leave this kingdom at possibly the worst time for them?

"Don't worry. We should be fine. Besides, you have your own people to take care of," says Merida, insisting that he should go.

"But you guys—,"

"Should be able to handle this," Merida cut him off.

Merida ran off straight toward the Great Hall. Hiccup watched her leave to inform the lords. Knowing that they would come by, he would have to move in order to stop them seeing Toothless. No one wants to take themselves out before the battle's even started. But one person can take the playful banter between the lords the wrong way, and it could spill disaster. Many were just thankful that no one took it seriously.

Hiccup knew Merida wanted him to leave. Not because she thinks he's been a pain while he was here, but because he's a chief. He has his own village to protect.

"Alright bud. Let's go," says Hiccup. Though he was unable to start toward Berk at the moment, he could at least help the clans take care of business quicker.

The two of them took off above the forest, completely undisturbed by what was about to come. Last time they used something that could have potentially burned off a good chunk of this forest. Hiccup just hoped they weren't using them again.

Rather than continuing, they landed somewhere out of sight, where they could continue to watch the ships continue on their path, gaining ground on DunBroch with every passing second. Every second the lords spend setting up, more leg room is chipped away from them.

The sun began to set low on the horizon, the bright orange sunset providing an incredible view of the lake. It would only look more perfect if there wasn't anything sailing across the thing, everyone on the vessels a threat to everyone's life in DunBroch.

Rapunzel spotted the lords leaving the Great Hall from the bedroom she was provided along with Eugene and Jack and began wondering what they were doing. Off to bed? Another hunt through the castle?

She heard footsteps resonate through the long hall as she had left the door wide open. Eugene stood in the doorway. Eugene held two frying pans in both hands, straight from the kitchen. He either asked for them or still has the ability to act like a thief despite quitting.

"Here," says Eugene as he handed her a frying pan.

Rapunzel glared at him with a questioning look, to which Eugene only just gestured toward the other clans.

"Get out of the castle," he says with the most serious face he could give her. He grabbed Pascal and set him on Rapunzel's shoulder.

They bumped into several people as they looked for an exit to the place. They haven't been around for long enough to know every hallway, every staircase in the castle. Often times, they would end up right where they started.

After finally reaching the outside world, the sun has almost fallen completely, the light dimming as seconds became minutes.

Exiting at the stables, the four of them found Merida mounting Angus. Merida pointed toward the lake, signaling that they should look that way. It was impossible to miss.

The ships closed in on DunBroch, but no sign of aggression was shown yet. The regular scorching fireball that signaled their arrival was gone. What are they trying this time? Do they have a bigger surprise up their sleeve?

"Same people," whispers Rapunzel, watching the lake. "Was this who you were talking about when you said DunBroch was attacked?"

"Yes," says Merida as she prepared to ride out. Her bow was slung over her dress, loaded with two dozen arrows.

Rapunzel beamed at her. "Sure. And I'd like to say that they were the same people who forced us to come here."

"What? So you're saying…"

"That's right," says Rapunzel, giving Merida a smug look. She folded her arms with her eyes half–closed, looking her in the eye.

"Uh, I don't want to interrupt, but we've got a more serious matter on the line?" Eugene interrupts.

"Right!" exclaims Merida before quickly leaving them in the dust on Angus. They stopped on a cliff overlooking the lake, watching as the lords lined up the clans. She grabbed one arrow and moved it between her fingers, holding her bow in her other hand.

Time continued, the ships continuing to close in on DunBroch as the sky grew darker and darker. Soon, only the light from the many torches in the kingdom was available, the moon shining proudly.

The ships, illuminated by the many torches floating on them, were clearly visible in the night. Not like last time, where they were completely hidden in the dark of the lake.

Someone on the lead ship could be spotted, standing in front of everyone. All of the catapults were loaded with large stones capable of cracking open a mountain. He raised his hand in front of those aboard the ships, clearly visible to everyone before clenching it into a fist.

Only a wide–eyed Fergus knew where this would go.

He quickly turned his back to the invading vessels, beginning his way back up to the castle before the barrage of projectiles came in.

But very few could find shelter in time. Most were left out in the open as projectiles were continuously hurled at them. Worst of all, the only ships available were those used by the clans, and those could no longer be reached.

Merida loaded an arrow onto her bow before holding it out over a torch. A flame slowly came to life on the tip, beginning to spread onto the shaft slowly.

She aimed at the lead vessel. Her target was in a spot where it wouldn't land on wood that was too damp, but also in a spot where it can go by unnoticed until it would be too late. The only way someone would notice it is if they were watching as it approached.

Merida took a deep breath before she released the arrow, the tip flying down to the lead ship. It made its mark, instantly followed by someone's eyes trailing straight to her.

She's been spotted.

An arrow came whizzing by, missing Merida only by mere inches. She could've sworn the shaft of it brushed her hair without actually hitting her head. Another one lodged itself into the barricade she hid behind.

Forced to hold back, Merida fled back into the castle, which was still buzzing with the crowd of people still scrambling around. Every torch inside was burning, lighting up the whole place. Most warriors inside were climbing up to the towers of battlements, while many maidens and children just searched for a decent spot to take shelter.

Barging into a room, she found Elinor's arms wrapped around her. "Merida! You okay?"

"Mum!" exclaims Merida, hugging her. "I'm fine, mum."

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought you've been carried off," she says, inspecting Merida for any scratches, cuts, or bruises.

"Seriously, mum. I'm fine!" says Merida, holding Elinor away from her.

Elinor ran her hand through Merida's hair, feeling it between her fingers. "Sorry. I'm just worried about them."

"Merida!" Fergus launched himself into the room. What's he doing in here?

"Dad!" replies Merida, stunned by his sudden entrance.

"Merida! They've reached the lower banks!" says Fergus, pointing outside.

Both Merida and Elinor gasped before Merida quickly started toward the door. She held her bow in her hands, leaving Elinor's arms reaching out for her as she left.

Rushing through the winding halls and stairwells of the castle, Merida eventually found the triplets actually doing nothing for once. Or so it looked like they were doing nothing. "Bah. I've got no time," Merida whispers to herself, leaving them where they were standing.

Back outside, the place has become more or less a mosh pit. While invaders continued to advance up the banks, clan members and warriors continued to rain down whatever they could to slow down their progress. So far, it wasn't helping.

Where's Jack or Hiccup when you need them? Jack isn't in DunBroch at the moment, and Hiccup was nowhere to be found. More than likely, he was on his way back to Berk and was long gone by now.

Still unseen by anyone, Hiccup sat on the grass next to Toothless, watching as the raid on DunBroch continued. It seemed to be never–ending. Hiccup would occasionally close his eyes and try to convince himself that it's just a nightmare before reopening them and finding conditions only worsening.

 _What am I doing just watching this?_  Hiccup thinks to himself, watching as soldiers continued upward, toughening up through every stone and arrow that rained down on them. He quickly rose to his feet before mounting Toothless and taking off into the dark of the night, cloaked by the blackness of the sky.

Merida continued to look down on the advancing line, raining arrows down onto the risen shields. She hoped to be able to split one of the arrows already lodged into a shield, but no luck so far.

Screams and shouts were replaced by a howl in the distance. No, not a howl. More like a whistle. Like someone were whistling really loudly that it could be heard throughout the kingdom.

A blur passed through the top of Merida's vision as her eyes were still staring straight down onto the crowd. She looked up toward where the blur was headed to find one of the ships burst to flames, the black figure pulling up at the last second.

It was shortly followed by a barrage of nets launching straight up, one hoping to find its target. It was impossible to see it, so whether or not it would find its mark depended not on the skill of who launched the net, but the reflexes of the flyer.

Rapunzel and Eugene came riding out of the castle on Maximus, catching sight of the lead ships. Pascal rested on Rapunzel's shoulder, trying his best to hide from the action. They still had their frying pans in hand.

Soldiers continued to advance upward, ignoring the fact that their lead ship just went down. They continued to hold their shields up, blocking out any arrows or other projectiles that rained down on them.

Merida spotted Toothless rounding the castle before landing next to her, catching the attention of everyone around.

"What are you doing?" Merida asks Hiccup as he dismounted.

"Saving your lives," Hiccup states bluntly.

"B– But you were supposed to get back to Berk and—,"

"Hey. Don't worry about me getting back. I'll figure something out. Worry about what's going on here," says Hiccup.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup spotted someone approaching Toothless in aggression. He obviously thinks Toothless is not with the kingdom, that he's been released by those invaders.

Hiccup quickly deployed Inferno and knocked the hammer out of the guy's hands before turning back to Merida. "Look. I've got to get out of here. He's a target to both the clans and them."

Merida just bit her lip and nodded before turning her back and finding Rapunzel, Eugene, and Maximus. Hiccup quickly took off with Toothless, back over the lake where several invaders were still camped out on their ships. They were reloading their catapults while some held torches in their hands. Easy to see, easy to target.

Screams and battle cries once erupted from both sides, accompanied by a loud whistle in the wind.

Toothless fired off a concussive blast at the crowd of invaders, knocking most of them off their feet. Some fell in a fashion that couldn't harm them significantly, while others didn't go down in such a pretty way.

Hiccup grimaced at those who weren't so lucky. "That looks like several broken bones, some sprains, and a few concussions."

The clans, still not knowing exactly what or where the blast came from, decided to take the opportunity to try and push the invaders back. Fergus and the lords took the lead, charging straight into the dazed crowd.

Out of nowhere, ice began creeping from the lake, freezing the surface. Although it did take out the ships used by the clans, it also took out all invader ships as well. It was shortly followed by Jack Frost flying straight in along with Bunnymund, who took a tunnel to appear under some unsuspecting invaders.

The invaders quickly stopped in their tracks, surrounded by the clans from in front, Jack and Bunnymund from behind, and Hiccup and Toothless from above. Some stragglers were able to split off only to find Rapunzel and Eugene, who quickly knocked them out with frying pans.

Toothless fired off another concussive blast into the crowd of invaders, once again bewildering them. Those who weren't taken out by the blast still had their weapons raised, still confident that they would be able to take on the clans, the two Guardians, and a dragon all at once.

Rapunzel and Eugene managed to find a way behind them, appearing next to Jack and Bunnymund. Maximus held the hilt of a dagger in his mouth.

They positioned themselves behind the remaining invaders, whose attention was focused completely on the clans. One invader raised his spear in preparation to throw it into the crowd, but he couldn't bring his arm forward before Rapunzel lunged forward and smacked him with her frying pan in the back of the head. Not so smart.

His helmet twisted before he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, He landed on top of one of those dazed by the second blast.

By now, only those camped out on their ships and a few ground units were left standing. Although most ships were still intact, all of them were dysfunctional thanks to Jack's freezing of the surface.

Jack glanced up to the moon before taking a look back at those camped out on the ships. They, like those unconscious on the field, had no way to escape with the lake frozen.

As the heat of the battle died down, Hiccup deemed that it was safe to land. He searched for Merida in the crowd, finding her with her bow drawn back. He landed right behind her and dismounted before tapping her on the shoulder.

Merida whipped around with an arrow loaded, aiming it right at Hiccup. Realizing who it was, she quickly snapped her arm to aim the bow away from Hiccup before releasing the arrow right into the stone floor.

"Hiccup! Why don't you get going?" says Merida.

"Look. I will. Soon. Don't worry about me," says Hiccup.

All of a sudden, a loud explosion rang throughout the entire kingdom. The burst didn't come from Toothless. It instead came from something else on the field, as smoke started billowing from the spot of the explosion.

Merida caught a ride from Hiccup and Toothless straight down to the field, to the spot of the explosion. They soon ran into Rapunzel, Eugene, and Jack shortly after landing. They sprinted up to her before Rapunzel and Eugene pressed their palms on their knees, exhausted.

"Oh, well, nice of you to join the party," says Merida lousily, directing her voice to Jack.

"Yeah. Getting Bunny to come over here wasn't the easiest of jobs, and—,"

"Look out!" someone yells.

They turned to catch sight of a giant scorcher flying toward them before Maximus split away along with Pascal. The ground suddenly opened up beneath them, consuming them. It closed above all of them the moment after Bunnymund was able to hop in, leaving a small flower at the center of where it closed up.


	5. Return to Berk

The group emerged from the ground on an island, one decorated with lush scenery. They stood just a few feet from a cliff, and looking down, the ocean beneath seemed to call at them. Waves washed the rock at the bottom.

"Gah. Bunny! Haven't I told you not to do that?" exclaims Jack with an irritated tone straight at Bunnymund, who was leaned up against a tree.

"Huh. I wonder why I did that," says Bunnymund. "Oh yeah, that's right. Maybe your response should be: "Thank you Bunny for saving my bloody life," but of course you seem to have a bit too much of an attitude to even consider that."

"Where are we anyway?" asks Merida, taking in the incredible view they were provided. "It looks like—,"

Hiccup cut her off. "Hold on, I think I know where we are." He held up a finger. "And being here actually saves me a day of flying to get back to Berk. We're not too far from there."

He quickly reached for his map before flashing the folded thing in front of everyone. Hiccup dropped to his knees and laid it onto the ground before unfolding it, careful not to tear any of the pieces. "I ran into this place while mapping, and it is right…" his finger flew over the map as he tried to find where they were. "Here."

Merida saw Hiccup's finger pointing at the same spot he had shown her a few days ago. Itchy Armpit, if she remembered correctly. Why does Hiccup have to give such ridiculous names?

"And Berk would be right here," says Hiccup, dragging his finger toward the center of the map. It landed where most of his drawings of each dragon in the middle seemed to be all in one spot. It must have been the largest island on his map, the second largest being one slightly southwest of Berk.

"I wouldn't bother naming this place," Merida whispers to the others. The name, in her mind, was so ridiculous and out–of–this–world she was afraid someone wouldn't be able to stop laughing once they started. She was just thankful no one could read Hiccup's handwriting.

Hiccup folded his map back up and stored it, much to Rapunzel's disappointment. She was paying more attention to the drawings of each dragon than what Hiccup was actually talking about.

"So where are we supposed to go now?" asks Rapunzel, snapping out of it. "We don't know how to get back to DunBroch, although I'm pretty sure they're fine," she mumbles. "And my place is out of the picture."

"Well," starts Hiccup, rising to his feet, "where else can we go? Berk's the closest place to here."

Jack leaned over to Bunnymund. "Don't complain if it's too cold over there. Okay, cottontail?"

Bunnymund just shrugged it off, looking away from Jack.

"Let's go!" exclaims Rapunzel, rushing over to Toothless only to have her arms grabbed by Hiccup and Eugene.

"One passenger, and Jack can fly on his own, meaning two of us will have to find a way there or—,"

He was cut off by someone calling his name off in the distance. Glancing upward, he spotted a Deadly Nadder making a beeline straight toward him. It seemed too familiar, and it didn't take Hiccup more than one second to know that Stormfly was landing right next to them.

They landed right next to them, causing Bunnymund to stumble a bit as he fiddled with his boomerang. The rider dismounted her dragon before heading straight for everyone.

"Astrid!" exclaims Hiccup, wrapping his arms around her. Astrid did the same before cuffing him in the shoulder, pushing him aside slightly with a smile on her face. "What?"

"Four days you were out," says Astrid, giving him the most serious face she could possibly give to him. "What've you been doing all that time?"

"I'll tell you. Keeping invaders out of a kingdom," replies Hiccup, half–expecting Astrid to believe him.

Merida jumped in. "And that much is true," she says.

Astrid glanced over to the others, observing them. She especially focused on Jack and Bunnymund, seeing as how they stood out in appearance. "And who's this?"

"Them? Oh. That's Jack Frost and… I have no idea who or how the rabbit got here. No offense," says Hiccup, trying not to anger Bunnymund.

Jack gave Bunnymund an evil smirk, like he thought he was more important because Hiccup was actually paying attention to him rather than Bunnymund. Bunnymund just responded by giving Jack a more threatening look, causing Jack's smile to widen.

"Uh… Easter Bunny, perhaps?" says Rapunzel.

Bunnymund pointed his boomerang at her like he was saying, "Good point." He nodded to verify.

"Pleasure," says Astrid curtly before turning back to Hiccup. "Anyway, everyone's been asking where you've been. We've been searching for hours."

"Only a few hours?" asks Hiccup. "I thought you'd have started searching by the time I got to DunBroch."

"DunBroch?"

"That kingdom I was in," answers Hiccup. "Took us one and a half days to fly there."

Astrid was taken aback by the remark. If it takes one and a half days to get from Berk to DunBroch on a Night Fury, the fastest dragon in the world, then there must be quite some distance between the two.

"And when did you guys leave the place?" asks Astrid.

"Oh! Well, a few minutes ago," says Hiccup. "It's hard to explain. You see, the ground opened up right under us while we were there and then—,"

"It's called the tunnels," Bunnymund interrupts.

"So fast?" asks Astrid.

"Magic," answers Rapunzel. Although Hiccup hasn't been exposed to it for nearly as long as the others have, he still did have a basic understanding of it after three days in DunBroch. "Yeah, what Hiccup just said— it's a little complicated."

Hiccup turned to her. "A little?" he asks. "I feel it's a bit too complicated if I do say so myself."

He turned back to Astrid. "Back to the point. So, the tunnel took us here, and as we all know we're pretty close to Berk and uh… well, some of us could use a lift to get there."

"Why don't you just take another tunnel?" asks Astrid, folding her arms.

"Yeah…" says Jack. "I'm not sure all of us would really like that." He locked his eyes on Rapunzel and Eugene.

"What? I'm perfectly fine taking one," says Eugene. He pulled Rapunzel in front of him to try and send the message that only Rapunzel had a problem with the tunnels.

Astrid sighed. "Fine. Who's with who?"

"Well, Rapunzel and I can take Toothless," starts Hiccup. "You should be able to go with Merida, the Bunny and Eugene should be able to take a tunnel," he directed his voice to Eugene, "just because you said you're fine taking one, and…" he says. He purposely left Jack out of the picture, knowing that he could just fly to Berk on his own. "We're good, I guess," he says slowly.

Everyone hustled over to their assigned spot, Merida mounting Stormfly behind Astrid and Rapunzel mounting Toothless after Hiccup secured his prosthetic leg on the pedal. Eugene stood next to Bunnymund, giving Rapunzel a small wave when she glanced at him. Despite being left out, Jack already knew how he was going to get to Berk.

"See you there, mate," says Bunnymund, tapping his foot on the ground. A tunnel opened up next to him, and he jumped in, shortly followed by Eugene.

Jack jumped straight up before catching the wind and disappearing off in the distance. A shocked Astrid was the only one who really saw him leave; everyone else was watching the tunnel close up behind them.

"More magic stuff," says Hiccup as he tried to answer, seeing a wide–eyed Astrid. He and Rapunzel took off on Toothless, straight back home, straight to Berk.

They were soon followed by Astrid and Merida. Having only flown once, Merida had a more mixed reaction to taking off. It seemed she anticipated for it to be less exciting and more terrifying since the last time she's flown. But the circumstances are different now. Last time she flew was in the middle of a battle. This time, there's nothing to worry about, nothing to watch out for.

Hiccup remained far ahead of Astrid as they flew due to Toothless being a faster flyer. Even if Stormfly was almost as fast as Toothless, quite some distance could be put between the two from flying for an hour. Every once in a while, he had to slow down just so they could play catch–up. It grew colder and colder as they neared Berk.

Upon arriving to Berk, Hiccup found that Bunnymund, Jack, and Eugene were already waiting there. They opted to stay away from the busier parts of the village, however. They weren't really known around the place, and their build made them stand out over the other Vikings.

Snow and ice covered the place, and there was a shipwreck on the other side of the island, the vessel trapped in the frozen waters. Circling the island, Hiccup found that the ship looked similar to those used by the invaders in DunBroch.  _Here too,_ he thinks to himself.  _There's just not one place safe from these guys._

They landed in the middle of the village where they were instantly greeted by other Vikings from the village. The entire village was decorated with the nice holiday feeling they've come to know every winter. Fires lit by dragons were scattered around the village, several Vikings gathered around each one to keep warm.

"So…" starts Hiccup as they started toward the edge of the village. "Anything real interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Uh… well—," starts Astrid.

"Except for anything having to do with that boat on the other side of the island," says Hiccup, cutting her off.

"Oh. That? Well, nothing really other than that," answers Astrid. "Your mother, Gobber, and Eret are still out at the moment. Probably still looking for you or something."

Hiccup pushed his way through the village toward Bunnymund, Eugene, and Jack. He found Bunnymund rubbing his shoulders with his head down.

"Gah! It's freezing!" Bunnymund complains.

"And I thought I told you not to complain about the cold," says Jack, beaming at him.

"Any reasons for you three hiding up here?" asks Hiccup.

"No, except we don't want to freak out anyone in the village," says Jack.

"Really!" says Bunnymund in an annoyed tone. "That's not like you at all! You irresponsible, selfish—," Bunnymund stopped midsentence, knowing what he was about to say. "But you're still a Guardian, after all.

"What I'm saying is that's not in your nature at all. What's gotten into you?" says Bunnymund, tapping Jack's head. "Aww. Did I break you with that tunnel, because you're always the one who likes to just get in there and freak everyone out."

Hiccup stifled a laughter after Bunnymund finished ranting. "Well, you can either stay out here where one of you will probably freeze to death, except Jack, or you can come down to the village where there's fire," he says. "Bright, warm fire," he adds, directing his voice at Bunnymund before turning around back toward the village.

Bunnymund just grumbled as they began to follow Hiccup into the village. Jack would just not stop smiling at him, knowing how easy it was to annoy him. Merida joined them the second they entered the village, near the Haddock house.

Moving into the busier parts of the place, they found that there were no Vikings without their dragons. Everyone had one, even the children. The place was decorated for the winter, and with Snoggletog nearing, it only felt necessary to have the holiday feel to it.

"A bit too Christmas–y, mate," whispers Bunnymund to Jack, who only nodded slightly. There was even a Christmas tree–like structure in the village, decorated with shields.

"Understandable though," replies Jack.

"Yaknog!" Astrid's voice could be heard throughout a good portion of the village.

Hiccup slumped over his shoulders. "You're still making that?" he mumbles, pretending Astrid could hear him.

They passed by a workshop with the symbol of a tooth hanging over it. The place was currently closed at the moment. It was completely empty, and nothing inside was functional.

The group turned a corner to bump into Astrid. She held a tray which carried a pitcher filled with Yaknog and several cups.

"Hey, Hiccup! Any of your friends want to try out some Yaknog?" asks Astrid, trying to get a good look at those behind him.

Hiccup hesitated for a few seconds. "Oh, uh… sure, I guess," he says. Astrid grabbed the pitcher and filled a cup with the thick, yellowish substance. She handed it over to Hiccup, who took a slightly disgusted look at it before handing it over to Eugene, who has been completely silent since arriving at Berk.

Eugene lifted the cup to his lips before lurching forward suddenly. His cheeks were puffed out, and the hand that wasn't holding the cup was placed over his stomach. A wide–eyed expression finished it all. It wouldn't take a genius to know it tasted horrible. Rapunzel gave him a strange expression— part of her looked to be grimacing, another part of her found it funny, and the rest of her looked confused.

"Well, you guys can be on your merry way. I'll go spread some more holiday cheer!" exclaims Astrid before turning and leaving, tray of Yaknog still in hand.

The second Astrid turned the corner out of view, Eugene bent forward and emptied his mouth of any remaining Yaknog. "Ugh, that's disgusting," he says, placing one hand against a pillar for support.

"Sorry," Hiccup apologizes.

Hiccup heard a noise from above. He glanced upward to find Cloudjumper just landing in the village. Valka quickly dismounted before rushing over to Hiccup.

She placed her hand on his cheek, relieved that her son was okay after four days of no sign of him.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine," says Hiccup. "Now, what was that about the shipwreck on the other side of the island?"

"They just came," says Valka. "No exchanged words, they were just hostile from the moment they neared us. There… there were Dragon Trappers and—,"

"What?" Hiccup cuts off his mother. "More Trappers? I thought we took care of them after Drago."

Valka shook her head. "Maybe not with Drago. Something else, someone else is behind this."

"But who? I mean, I've already had to hold off two attacks for a kingdom," Hiccup mentions.

Valka froze. "You mean you've seen them before?" she asks. "Two attacks, you must have gotten some good look at them, at least something?"

"Nothing," says Hiccup. "They attacked at night both times. It was completely dark. We couldn't see a thing."

Merida jumped in. "Actually, they were lit up the second time. You could've gotten a better look at them from there."

Hiccup just glanced at her and continued as if he was ignoring her. "Anyway, none of us know who it is, and so far, it's someone none of us have ever heard of."

A nearby baby dragon twitched before spitting out a ball of fire. It impacted with the doorframe of a nearby house, setting it on fire. Several Vikings froze in their tracks upon hearing the impact.

"Even after two attacks there and an attack here, I don't even have the slightest hint on where they're based in," says Hiccup, pulling a nearby rope. A bucket above the door turned over, and the flames were doused as water poured over it.

Valka looked off into the distance, thinking it over. "Huh. Well, I'll be over at that shipwreck if you need me for anything," she says, starting toward Cloudjumper.

"Thanks."

"Oh! Also, have you tried the Yaknog?" asks Valka as she mounted Cloudjumper.

Hiccup grimaced. "Don't remind me of that first time I've ever tried it," he says, glancing over to Eugene. He was still trying to find a way to wipe off the horrible taste of the so–called 'beverage.' "Yes, I tried it too, so don't say anything about it anymore."

Valka and Cloudjumper took off to the other side of the island, once again leaving Hiccup alone for the others.

They remained silent for most of the tour, save for the occasional question about one specific place. Many questions were about Dragon Racing, which made sense because it was an entirely new sport to them. In fact, it was a sport known only to Berk residents.

Gobber arrived back at Berk midway through the tour. Everyone found that he worked in that workshop with the tooth symbol as a dragon dentist, much to Jack and Bunnymund's dissatisfaction for Berk paying its tributes to North and Tooth, but none of the other Guardians. Tribute for Tooth or not, the teeth of any razor–sharp–toothed dragon, like a Nadder or Monstrous Nightmare, looked horrendous from Jack or Bunnymund's perspective.

Hiccup stood outside the Great Hall, the huge double doors shut behind him. Jack, Bunnymund, Merida, Rapunzel, and Eugene were all inside, and despite a small complaint about the food, all seemed to be going well so far. Rapunzel was getting along great with dragons, specifically with the babies, while Eugene tried to learn a few tricks from her. Usually, it ended up with something bursting into flames, so thank the Gods for top–of–the–line fire prevention.

The sky darkened, the sun beginning to dip below the horizon. Valka has still yet to return from the shipwreck on the other side of the island, but Hiccup just simply brushed it off. Should they ever need to rush to her assistance, it would only take a few minutes to reach the other side of the island.

Hiccup headed back inside to the others. They were all sitting at a table on the other side of the hall.

"First impressions of the place?" asks Hiccup as he reached them. He took a seat next to Merida, with the two Guardians and Eugene sitting on the other side of the table.

"Well first, if I must say, it's freezing here!" says Bunnymund, still annoyed by the cold. He placed one hand close to a nearby torch, trying to warm up. "And I can't even take five steps on my own without having a Gronckle fly straight into me."

Hiccup stared at him. "Thank you for mentioning that," he says sarcastically. "I'll tell you that winters here are quite lengthy, so I'd get used to it."

"Hiccup, you've really outdone yourself with this place," says Eugene.

"And that's supposed to be a compliment?" asks Hiccup, keeping a close eye on Eugene. "You barely know me, I don't think we've ever spoken to each other directly until you tried the Yaknog."

"Oh. That," says Eugene, hanging his head over the table. He wiped his mouth, thinking there was still a small amount of Yaknog still sticking to his lips.

Hiccup grabbed a plate off a nearby table, one completely untouched. The others still in the hall were just finishing up their meals, and some were leaving.

Valka entered the great hall, the doors making a low, hollow noise as they opened. She held a few things in her hands, and despite dropping a few things along the way, she managed to reach them with what she deemed to be important. The contents consisted of two helmets, a banner, and a breastplate.

"What's this?" asks Hiccup.

"This is what I got off that ship over there," says Valka. "To me, none of these designs look familiar."

Hiccup studied the emblem on the breastplate. It was a simple 'X,' and in the left and right quadrants were the sun and the moon both up against the middle. Half of the sun on the left, half of the moon on the right. In between, a line was drawn, and the backgrounds on the left side was brighter than the right. The lining extended through both the top and bottom quadrants, which only contained two small arcs. If lines were drawn between them, it would form a full circle with only small portions of the 'X' reaching out.

Looking over to the helmets, they looked exactly the same as those he saw during the first attack on DunBroch. Or at least what Hiccup could remember of its design from the first attack. Despite several similarities between its facemask and the one that Valka uses, it wouldn't take too much to find out that it wasn't the same as hers. The slots for the eyes were wider and more oval–like while Valka's were circular. An extra layer of thickness was added near the chin, and overall, it seemed to be thicker and tougher than Valka's. It was white, and small spikes were placed above the eyeholes. Large, narrow slits were cut into where the mouth would be.

Hiccup shook his head. "No. I don't know any of these, except that this is the same thing I saw from the first attack in DunBroch," he says, holding up the mask. "Also, that symbol in the bottom quadrant of the breastplate resembles the ones used back then."

Meanwhile, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Merida were interested in the banner. Valka took one glance at it, stared at it for two seconds, and instantly took her eyes off. The symbol was the same as the one on the breastplate, so there was no need for her to look at it.

"Any leads?" asks Merida.

"Nope," answers Hiccup.

Merida banged her fist on the table in frustration. Frustrated because after hearing of four attacks— two on DunBroch, one on Corona, and one on Berk —they could not find any sign that gave them even the slightest idea of who they were.

"No attacks tonight. I'll think about this tomorrow, or we'll need another attack for leads," says Hiccup, turning to leave.

The door of the Great Hall slammed shut with a low noise as Hiccup exited the building.

Hiccup passed by Fishlegs along the way, who was holding the Book of Dragons in his hands. It was open, turned to the page labeled 'Bewilderbeast'. The page was mostly empty— it was just recently added, after all. It only contained basic information of the alpha dragon, how it controlled all of the smaller ones around it, except for babies.

"Oh. Fishlegs. You're still awake," starts Hiccup. "On that page, are you? The one we've never seen since well… you know when." It wasn't a memory Hiccup really liked to recall.

"Yup," says Fishlegs.

Hiccup was about to start toward his house before Fishlegs stopped him. "Listen. About that attack," he says.

"Yes?"

"Well, I managed to sneak past them in the dark of the night during the attack and pick up on their conversation. But just barely."

"And what did you hear from them?"

"Well…" says Fishlegs, trailing off. He was nervous, and it showed on his face and body language. "I didn't really get anything important, but they said something about the dragons."

Hiccup allowed a few seconds of silence. "Oh, yes. They were probably talking about us having dragons, or they were saying something about trying to shoot them down. They are Dragon Trappers after all."

"No, no, no, no. It's something else. They weren't talking about shooting them down or anything." Fishlegs began to follow Hiccup back to his house. "They were talking about—,"

"Controlling them?" guesses Hiccup. "That's why you're turned to Bewilderbeast in the book?"

"That's a possibility. But I didn't say that was it. I didn't say they wanted control over dragons, because I didn't pick that up. I just heard something among the lines of: "We don't force dragons on our side, we're done for.""

Hiccup took a deep breath. "Well, I wish them luck with that. It's not the way they're supposed to do it, and by the way, it doesn't even work."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Look. Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."

Hiccup headed back to his house, opening the door only to find Jack, Rapunzel, Merida, and Eugene all waiting inside.

"Look who's here! Where's Bunny?" says Hiccup as he shut the door behind him.

"I don't know," says Jack. "Probably ran off into the forest to hurl." Jack leaned closer to Hiccup. "I think he took a bit of Yaknog on accident," he whispers.

"Really. Do rabbit Guardians hurl? Because, you know. All that business of having to do your job," says Hiccup, emphasizing the last few words, "and being immortal. I think it's… I think it's a pretty tough occupation. Plus, how's he even supposed to get his hands on Yaknog this late at night?"

"Hey. Believe me, I didn't want to be a Guardian at first either," says Jack, icing a portion of a wall. "Heck, I didn't even agree with Bunny either. And guess what! We still don't agree on most things! The Yaknog part? Well, I think someone decided to leave all the leftovers in the Great Hall."

"Also, it's freezing out there. And I don't think it took that long for us to learn he hates the cold."

"You worry too much. He'll be fine out there."

No more than five seconds later, the door burst open. Bunnymund stood in the doorway, covered in snow from the top of his ears to this feet. He still had a sick look on his face, and everyone just watched as he walked through the house. It was beginning to snow outside, the white beads falling to the ground in the light from the few torches still lit around the village.

"Had a good time out there in the forest, Bunny?" Jack asks as Bunny passed by him.

"Don't talk about it," he says in an irritated tone.

Silence filled the house for a few more seconds before Hiccup spoke up. "Okay! Now, where is everyone sleeping, because this place has only got two beds, meaning everyone else is going to have to sleep on the floor."

Rapunzel and Eugene were the first to volunteer to sleep on the floor downstairs, leaving Merida and Jack to take each of the two beds. Merida took Hiccup's bed upstairs, sneaking past Toothless, who was asleep atop a rock slab. Bunnymund decided to set himself near the fire pit, though it was unlit.

Hiccup decided to sleep upstairs on the floor next to Toothless's rock slab. He propped his head up against the edge of the slab, facing Merida.

"You know, I've been thinking," says Merida, who was lying down and fully aware that Hiccup was there.

"Thinking about what?"

"We left DunBroch in the middle of the second attack."

"And?"

"Meaning we left everyone else. My parents. The devils. Maximus. Pascal. Angus. Everyone except Eugene and the rabbit."

"What are you coming to? First of all, Bunny opened the tunnel to get here, and second of all, he's not going to give us another tunnel back."

"Then we leave."

"Now? With Snoggletog approaching? As far as this goes, those tunnels are the only way we'll be able to get anywhere until after Snoggletog."

"Well, what if they lost that attack because we were forced out? What if they somehow bounced back after we stopped them?"

"Look. Jack iced the lake, they were all knocked out when we left. There were only a few left. That one fireball they shot at us was probably just a last–ditch effort before they were captured."

"You're saying…?"

"I'm saying they're fine. No one you care about is getting hurt.

"Look, just try to get some sleep. It doesn't help to stay up all night worrying about them." Hiccup was beginning to find the rock slab uncomfortable and decided to just lie flat on the floor. He closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep.

Rapunzel yawned as she stood up, stretching after lying on the floor for several hours. A wooden floor isn't exactly the best surface to sleep on. Combine it with freezing weather, and it is one heck of a nightmare trying to get to sleep. It was bright outside, but clouds were blocking out the sun for the most part. The white blanket over them only added to the winter chill.

Finding that both of the Guardians and Eugene were already awake, she headed upstairs to find Merida still snoring, her red hair a mess as usual. Hiccup and Toothless have already left, as nothing lay on the rock slab. A cold chill came through the window, and Rapunzel shivered slightly.

Rapunzel went back downstairs, finding the fire pit lit up. Bunnymund was over warming himself up, while Eugene was trying his best to prepare even a half–decent meal. Jack was just relaxing, sitting on the frame of the bed.

"Good night's rest, Punzie?" asks Jack.

"And I don't assume you've ever tried to sleep on a wooden floor in the cold," says Rapunzel. "Oh wait, scratch the cold part for you. Maybe try… oh, I don't know. Midsummer weather, perhaps?"

"In your dreams."

"And so it'll be my new dream. To see you sleeping on a wooden surface outdoors in the middle of summer." Rapunzel chuckled.

Eugene leaned over to her. "You are just joking, right?"

"Of course."

"Anyway," starts Rapunzel, opening the door before immediately regretting her decision and slamming it shut. "Ooh, it is freezing. But does anyone know where Hiccup is?"

"He told us he was going to the Dragon Training Academy," says Jack. "Pfft. Like any of us know what building it is. He left with Toothless a few minutes ago," answers Jack.

"Easy. Just find a big place where they're training dragons. Done. We found it, and we can be on our merry way."

The four of them ended up circling the entire village searching for the Dragon Training Academy. Maybe a little map, or a bit of a hint to where it was from Hiccup would've helped, but no. They're all out in Berk, hopelessly losing themselves in hope that they would eventually stumble across the academy.

"This isn't working," says Bunnymund. "We've been out here for an hour already, and we haven't come across the academy."

"Then let's check over here," says Rapunzel, pointing at a large dome in the distance. It stood on the edge of a snowy cliff, nothing but solid ice at the bottom.

The walk did take several minutes, but the time paid off when they heard a burst from in the dome. Looking inside, they found Hiccup along with several others and their dragons in the academy. To Bunnymund and Jack, however, the place looked more like an arena. There were cages lined throughout the place.

They observed what was in the lineup. Toothless, Stormfly, a Zippleback, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Gronckle, a Hotburple, and several Terrible Terrors. The human lineup consisted of a guy who seemed really full of himself, a larger, chubbier boy, brother and sister twins, Hiccup, Gobber, and Astrid.

Hiccup looked up to find them watching their training. "Good morning!" He calls out. "Care to join in on some training?"


	6. Outcast Dwelling

Elinor had her hands cupped over her mouth, weeping in the tapestry room. She placed her hand on the line drawn between her and Merida from when Merida tore it in frustration on the day of her betrothal. The tear in the tapestry was mended, as shown by the line between them. She rested her head on her arms and continued crying.

"Oh, I'm just hoping you're okay," she whispers to herself.

"Ah! Done with the lords, finally! Elinor dear," says Fergus. He entered the room and tried to comfort her. "What would've happened if she didn't take that tunnel?"

Elinor wiped her eyes. "She would've died.

"But it's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her leave the castle that night. I should've just kept her inside no matter what it took." She buried her hands in her face. "She's a princess. I would've locked her up just to be safe and—,"

"Now don't say that," Fergus interrupts. Strangely, he didn't seem to have any problem with Merida just leaving. "She's a warrior, but also a princess. Besides, I'm sure that lad can take care of her."

Elinor looked up to Fergus. "You sure?"

"Aye. He may not look like one, but he's a chief. We'll get her back. I promise."

* * *

"Berk Dragon Training Academy, huh?" says Jack as they entered the place. "More like a kill ring."

"Oh. Yeah. About that… uh… it's complicated," says Hiccup, shying away from his past.

"Well, this is the Dragon Training Academy," Hiccup began to explain. "What we do here is pretty self–explanatory, and—,"

"We blow stuff up!" shouts Tuffnut. "Fire away!" he yells to the Zippleback. One head breathed out a dark green gas while the other fired a shot at a dummy, blowing it up. Once the smoke cleared, everyone looked up to find its head blown clean off in front of one of the cages. The front of the dummy's body was completely black.

"Alright!" yells Ruffnut. She grabbed Tuffnut's hand and they banged their helmets against one another.

"Are they always like this?" asks Rapunzel.

"More often than not," answers Hiccup.

"Well, that's pleasant. How attractive," Merida mentions sarcastically.

Snotlout took special interest in Rapunzel, even creeping up to her with a smirk on his face. "So. You're a princess, if I can remember correctly. You know, maybe we can, you know, someday go on a tour of the island? Just the two of us? Alone?" He reached his hand out for Rapunzel's.

"And she's also taken," says Hiccup, grabbing the left horn of Snotlout's helmet and pulling him away. "Sorry, Snotlout." He was placed in front of Gobber, who grabbed his helmet and pulled him down.

A cold breeze swept through the academy, causing most to shiver. Bunnymund was especially bothered by it. He looked willing to just go jump into a fire pit, no matter how painful it might be. He'd rather take burns than get frostbite.

"Welcome to Berk. Sorry guys, you'll just have to toughen up over the weather," says Hiccup. "But this isn't exactly the best weather to train in. Ugh, winter months."

Snotlout smiled. "Well, I've got my own heater," he says, mounting the Monstrous Nightmare. It burst into flames, not so hot that it would burn him badly. Snotlout sighed in relief before the Monstrous Nightmare flung him off into a wall.

"Hookfang!" yells Snotlout.

Bunnymund took interested in the heat and headed over to the dragon.

"Bunny, I don't think that's a good—," starts Hiccup.

Hookfang suddenly reeled back and shot a burst of flame at Bunnymund. Having quick reflexes, he easily dodged it with by sidestepping. "Oh, so that's how you want to play it," says Bunnymund, reaching for his boomerang.

"Okay. I don't think this is a very good idea," says Hiccup, placing himself between Bunnymund and Hookfang. He knew neither would fire at him, especially Hookfang. He faced Bunnymund, and Astrid decided to stand next to him, facing Hookfang.

Snotlout's attention shifted toward Bunnymund. "Wow. I must say that I am quite convinced by that costume," he says.

Hiccup sighed and facepalmed. "Snotlout, it's not a costume."

"Yeah, right." Snotlout turned away and headed back toward Hookfang.

Merida leaned over to him again. "Are all of your friends like this?"

"Just him and the twins. Fishlegs and Astrid make better friends for the more gentle soul.

"Okay, I think that's enough," says Hiccup. "On to the training session.

"Gobber has strategically placed thirty targets on and around the island. That makes six for each of us. That also means you'll most likely be out of shots by the time this is over, except for Hookfang. Each target is marked with a different color. Cyan for Astrid, burnt apricot for Fishlegs, mahogany for Snotlout, pistachio for the twins, and pitch black for me."

The last few words grabbed the attention of Bunnymund and Jack. "Did he say what I think he just said?" asks Jack.

"Yes, and he meant the color," says Bunnymund. "Now pay attention."

"Do I really have to? How is this training exercise important for me? It's meant for the dragon riders. Not you, not me," complains Jack.

"The goal is simple," continues Hiccup. "Just fire one blast at each of your targets and return to the academy. Six shot limit for most of us, so don't miss."

"Seems easy enough," says Snotlout.

But Hiccup wasn't finished yet. "Treat it like a race. Because this exercise is meant to train you to defend yourself against attackers, you will want to try to deviate others from their current paths. You might also want to watch out for anything that might come flying your way." He glanced at the others before continuing. "They've got Dragon Trappers. That's why Eret will be moving around various posts on the island trying to shoot you down. If he gets you, you're done." He eyed Ruffnut, whose mind was off in who–knows–where.

Gobber decided to finish the explanation. "Also, none of the targets are located in the village, so don't look there. Rather, look near places like the beaches, cliffs, and the cove. Search close to the village, but don't search in the village."

Hiccup nodded. "I'll see you all back here once we're all done."

Astrid and Snotlout were the first to roll out, followed by the twins and Fishlegs. Hiccup waited awhile before mounting Toothless. He turned to Merida, Jack, Bunnymund, Rapunzel, and Eugene.

"Anyone here got a good throwing arm?" he asks.

"Well, I can use this," says Bunnymund, holding out his boomerang and several egg bombs. "What exactly are you getting to with this?"

"Training. Just try to shoot us down while we're on our course," answers Hiccup. "But don't actually hit anyone. That's Eret's job."

"And us?" asks Rapunzel.

"I don't know. You can either join Bunny or just look around the village for the time being. I'll come by and get you once we're done."

Hiccup mounted Toothless and locked his prosthetic leg onto the pedal. "Let's go, bud." Toothless zipped out of the academy, leaving everyone else watching him circle before flying off in the distance.

"Well, I'm off to do that job Hiccup assigned me," says Bunnymund, taking a tunnel out of the academy. He reappeared above the cove. After a general scan of the area, he found two targets in the forest: one with mahogany rings and one with cyan rings. One for Snotlout, and one for Astrid respectively. A bola sling came flying across his vision, followed my Fishlegs and his Gronckle.

Meanwhile, Hiccup continued to search the outskirts of the island, scanning the beach for any targets Gobber may have placed. There was one marked for the twins, but that one has already been blasted at. Great. If the twins are ahead of him then that means everyone else is probably ahead too. Those two weren't always the brightest in the group.

He spotted his first target on the face of a cliff. Black would stand out in the snow, making it easy for him to find it. Toothless pulled back before flying straight toward it. After hearing the regular noise of the approach of a Night Fury, Toothless released a shot straight at the target. Half of it was knocked off the cliff, down to the ice below. The other half remained hanging, but only just. One down, five more to go.

Hiccup's course was interrupted suddenly. Not by Eret or Bunnymund, but by something he spotted off in the distance. It was a lone ship, bearing the same design as the ones used to invade DunBroch. Hiccup hesitated for a bit. Part of him told him to finish the training session and find out what that ship is doing there, but another part of him told him to return to the academy and tell Gobber. Alert the others. Stop something bad from becoming worse. But why is it alone?

Hiccup found the lone ship to pose no threat at all. After deciding to continue with the training session, Hiccup turned toward the cove. He easily dodged a net that Eret fired at him, only to be interrupted by Fishlegs and Meatlug. They bumped into Hiccup and Toothless, causing everyone to stumble mid–flight. They all noticed that they were about to crash into the forest, so Toothless pulled to the right while Meatlug pulled to the left.

Hiccup spotted Bunnymund emerging from the tree line. He fired off a warning shot with an egg bomb, so Hiccup decided to have Toothless pull up and fly over Berk. He knew that trying to run from Bunnymund would be a pointless endeavor. He could just keep taking the tunnels to get literally anywhere on Berk. To the cove, to the Great Hall, even to the Haddock House, should he ever need to.

Flying over the island, Hiccup checked back to find the ship still there. Astrid was circling around the island, and he spotted Stormfly take a single spine shot into the forest. That most likely means two or three down for Astrid now.

Hiccup found one of his targets placed carefully near the dock. The ships, for the most part, were dysfunctional due to one of Berk's biggest winters on record. The target stood tight between a ship and a cliff. Toothless took one careful shot at it, striking it on the first try. He had to make sure he wouldn't destroy the ship or take out the cliff. They quickly dodged an incoming blast from Hookfang before moving on to where they were originally going: the cove.

"I wouldn't go to the cove," says Snotlout as he flew by.

"Why not?" asks Hiccup.

"The rabbit's got that place on lockdown. I had to fly through smoke to hit my target there. Probably the second toughest thing I've had to do all week after keeping those guys away from Berk."

Hiccup decided to insist on heading to the cove anyway. Lockdown by Bunnymund or not, one of his targets could be placed down there.

They dove straight in, finding that Bunnymund was indeed watching the place. Finding one of their targets hidden deep in the place, the Hiccup and Toothless dove into the cove. As expected, egg bombs immediately came flying toward him. They quickly leveled out, took care of that target, and flew through the smoke back over the island.

Still finding that invader ship off in the distance, Hiccup finally gave in and headed back for the academy. He flew in to find the others waiting without Bunnymund. Their attention quickly turned to him as they found that he was finished so soon.

"Done so soon?" asks Gobber.

"No. I only marked three of my targets," answers Hiccup.

Gobber froze. "So why aren't you still out there?"

"Invader ship. Off in the distance. I don't know what it's doing there. It's all by itself. No fleet, nothing."

That surely grabbed everyone's full attention. "Them? So soon?" asks Rapunzel. "I thought they attacked here while we were in DunBroch, and that wasn't even two days ago. And why a single one?"

"I thought the same thing about why there was only one. Maybe they're trying to sneak someone or something onto the island? Worked with Whispering Death eggs a few years ago, but it's winter this time around. I doubt it'll work this time."

"Let's go check it out," says Jack, handing Merida her bow.

Hiccup and Merida left the academy on Toothless while Jack flew out on his own, leaving Gobber, Rapunzel and Eugene to wait for the other riders to finish their training. They flew toward the lone ship out in the sea. What is its purpose there? To observe? To lure? To sneak something onto the island? Have they already done their task, or did they just arrive here at Berk?

As they circled around the island, they found Astrid pulling up from one of her targets. "I've only got one left, Hiccup!"

"I'm not concerned about the training right now. Right now, I'm looking at that ship out there," says Hiccup. "Recognize it at all?"

Astrid took the best look she could at the vessel out there. "No. Why are you even concerned about it? That's not one of the attacker's ships that came here."

"But that is an invader ship used by DunBroch invaders. Trust me in this one."

Astrid snapped her head back to the ship and joined them in following it. It quickly started a course away from the island once those on board noticed the two dragons and Guardian flying toward them.

They decided to get as much cloud cover as they possibly could to follow the ship. It wasn't exactly the easiest job when it's the middle of winter, meaning it's freezing up there. Being used to the cold, Hiccup and Astrid looked as if they weren't even bothered by it. Obviously, no complaint from Jack. But Merida did complain only to toughen up later and remain silent.

Whoever was on the ship seemed to make no move in an attempt to lose them. The ship just kept moving without any sign of stopping. No direction changes, no hiding right next to pillars, nothing. Do they even know they're being followed, or is the cloud cover actually working and they think they lost the riders?

Eventually, a large island came into view. It looked like an island uninhabitable by humans with the darkened landscape and all. Dead trees were scattered around the landscape. But looking closer, Hiccup could actually see several structures on the ground. He hasn't been here in a while, but Hiccup still knew what that island was.

Outcast Island.

Surprisingly enough, the ship docked at the island. What, did Alvin just form another alliance with what is now an enemy of Berk, turning against them once again? Is some other trouble brewing on the island that they've been unaware of for who–knows–how–long?

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged glances before diving down toward the island. Nobody knew what was happening down there, but if the ship's going to dock at that island, then Outcast Island it is.

As they came down, they noticed the island was full of wild dragons, just like it always was. About half were Gronckles while there were some Nadders and Zipplebacks, and even a few Monstrous Nightmares in the mix. Fortunately, no Whispering or Screaming Death. Just thinking of what it did years ago made Hiccup shudder.

They landed in one of the blind spots on the island, or at least what they knew of the place. It was crawling with people wearing the invader emblem, so they were lucky to be able to land out of sight. Everyone left their dragons in that spot before looking over a pile of rocks into the island's arena.

Once they had determined it was clear, the four of them snuck down and jumped into the arena. It wasn't nearly as secure as the academy, so it was easy for them to get in. However, the interior build was just like the academy: a circular arena with several cages and exits lining the edges. They narrowly avoided a guard who passed by immediately after they dropped in.

The place was completely silent except for shoe brushing up against rock. No wild dragons, no voices, nothing. There was a tunnel leading to what Hiccup remembered was several cells for both dragons and humans alike. Having spotted neither Alvin nor Savage or even a single Outcast definitely raised suspicions.

They decided to head into that passage, thinking they could find at least something to help them.

After sneaking past several guards, they came across several cells. There only two of them were occupied; one with a Scauldron and one with a Thunderdrum. The Thunderdrum wore a muzzle and was chained to the back of its cell while the Scauldron was just chained. Several buckets hung above it, most likely filled with water. They were out of the Scauldron's reach however— its cell was huge, like they took down the barriers between several cells and raised the roof. Hiccup never remembered a single cell on Outcast Island to be that large.

"Whatever's going on, those behind it really hate Tidal Class dragons," guesses Hiccup as they passed by. He caught Merida attempting to reach toward the Scauldron and pulled her back to the ground just to dodge a burst of scalding water.

"One blast and you're done for," whispers Hiccup. "And they don't know how to restrain a Scauldron as well as they know the Thunderdrum."

The group heard several whispers, cueing them to move on before any guards come over. There were definitely some guards who heard that, and getting caught was the last thing they wanted to happen. Also, the wet rock on the other side of the cavern–like hallway was a dead giveaway that someone interacted with it just recently.

They moved on to find the cells holding human hostages. Many of them were packed with… Outcast tribe members? Hiccup suspected that it would only be a matter of time until they would come across Alvin.

They found Alvin at the very end of the cavern–like prison. He had his own cell to himself. His hands were tied behind his back. His back was turned, but it was pretty obvious he was awake. His cell was to the left of Savage and Mildew's cell. Both were asleep on opposite sides of the cell

"Stay back and watch for any incoming guards," Hiccup says to Jack and Merida. "Astrid and I will talk this out."

"And if there are guards coming our way?" asks Merida.

"You come rushing back over here."

The two of them nodded and turned the corner, leaving Astrid and Hiccup to confront the captive Alvin the Treacherous. Without saying a word, Hiccup opened the cell door. It creaked on the hinges of which it barely hung on, unstable like anything else on the island. Every structure seemed to look dangerous.

Without any warning, Alvin lunged straight at Hiccup and pinned him to the cell wall. He could've severely injured Hiccup if he didn't stop himself from head–butting him.

"Oh. Hiccup!" says Alvin, releasing Hiccup. Hiccup took a deep breath upon being let go. "What are you doing here?" He spoke in his usual croaky voice. It still sounded menacing, like he hasn't changed a bit since the last time they met a few years ago, fighting off Dagur the Deranged.

"I spotted one of their ships off of Berk. We followed it over here," answers Hiccup. "What happened to your island?"

"Dragon Trappers happened. It didn't take too long for them to take the entire island from us, to lock us up on my island."

"Look. I hate them too. They attacked Berk a few days ago. I was just lucky they could keep them off Berk without me."

"Without you?"

"When they attacked Berk, I wasn't around. About a day and a half's flight away from the place. Some other kingdom where the exact same people attacked. But as far as I knew, they didn't bring any Trappers. Alvin, there's someone they're working for. They wouldn't just attack some place and have other people attack some other place at the same time."

"Where exactly?"

"DunBroch. It's a kingdom far off. Met a few nice people there. Not all that impressive except for the castle itself, along with an interesting royal family. Plus, no dragons there."

"No dragons? Must be a boring place to live then."

Hiccup scoffed.

"So eh… how's life been back on Berk? How's Stoick been doing?"

Hiccup shuddered upon hearing his father's name. His death was probably the one worst moment he has ever lived through. But what was even more painful to know about the death of his father was the killer. From the view of some, they would say Toothless killed him because he was the one who fired. From the view of others, they would say Drago Bludvist killed him because he had the Bewilderbeast controlling Toothless. Hiccup was sort of split down the middle, although he wanted to convince himself that his best friend wasn't the one who killed him.

"Uh…" starts Hiccup, unsure of how to put it down. Knowing Alvin, one wrong word could send him into a rampage. "It's not something I like to think about."

But Alvin, surprisingly, was smarter than that. "Alright. What happened to him? Spit it out."

Hiccup sighed before taking in a deep breath. "Drago Bludvist killed him."

Alvin's eyes widened in fear. "Drago? That madman?" he asks, only to be answered with a sorry nod.

"Where is he right now?" demands Alvin. "I swear, I'll avenge your father no matter what it takes out of me!"

"He's already done with," interrupts Hiccup.

"Oh."

Several voices could be heard throughout the prison. Astrid gave Hiccup a nervous look, finding Jack and Merida rushing back to them.

"I better go," says Hiccup, using Inferno to destroy the cuffs. He left the cell and locked Alvin behind bars. Alvin simply nodded, knowing that there was no chance at escaping right now.

The four of them hid from the guards as they passed by. They dropped in on Alvin. "Who are you speaking with?" one of them demands. Alvin faced the guard and just spoke with himself, mimicking the voice of another person. He had his hands behind his back, like the cuffs were still on.

"Sir, there's no one on this island," says a voice from the arena.

"Then you're not searching hard enough!" booms a much more menacing voice. "I know there's someone on my island. You think that Scauldron blast back there was a coincidence? Do you think that preachy Alvin just talks to himself all of a sudden? Double your search!"

Merida and Hiccup exchanged glances. So they know they're on the island. It's time to bail, to get off the place as soon as they possibly could. But how were they supposed to sneak to the arena? And after that, there are no places to hide in the arena, so how would they get past that?

They silently snuck their way back toward the arena to find someone just leaving. Thinking the path was clear, the four started their trek through the arena.

"Going somewhere?" says a voice from behind them.

Everyone froze where they were before they were surrounded by guards from every direction. Everywhere they looked, there was a spear pointed straight at them. They pushed them into the middle of the arena, the dead center.

"Any ideas?" whispers Astrid, backing away from the guards. She held her axe in hand, while Jack's staff was pointed toward the guards who faced him. Merida had an arrow loaded on her bow, while Hiccup deployed Inferno.

"One, but it might be a bit risky," says Hiccup quietly, tapping his sword to the ground.

"What choice do we have?" says Merida, keeping her voice down. "It's either take the risk or we're done for right here, right now."

Jack frosted the floor, causing a few of the guards to slip and fall. Hiccup deactivated Inferno and stood down, holding the sword in his left hand.

"Is that really all you got?" asks the same voice. It was a voice Hiccup recognized, but he just couldn't seem to put his finger onto it.

Hiccup glanced up and out of the arena to find a familiar face. He looked different compared to the last time the two met, but that was years ago. It's…

"Dagur," whispers Hiccup.

He held the same evil smirk on his face that he always did. The kid's grown over the past few years. He was about a few inches taller, but his attire was mostly the same. Same armor, same helmet, same scars, even his personality was the same. Nothing about him changed at all.

"I've waited four years," says Dagur. "You and Alvin taking me down was merely a test drive compared to what I am now. In other words, you've got no chance of getting out of that ring. My whole armada is ten times bigger and stronger than what it was from before. After a little makeover, I only had to lay a finger on this island, and after the swipe of a sword, it's all mine. Again! And now that the madman Drago just so happened to take out one of my bigger targets, I can expect Berk to fall within the next few days."

"What do you even want, Dagur?" asks Hiccup, trying to sound as bored as he possibly could.

Dagur sneered at him. "What I've always wanted: the Night Fury."

Hiccup grunted, but he did know much more was at stake here. There's more to lose if he manages to capture Toothless. The stakes now included an alpha, the chief's dragon, but the biggest thing at stake always was his best friend.

"Aw. Brought along a few friends, haven't you?" says Dagur, eyeing Merida and Jack. "Well, I'm going to ignore you, Astrid. I think the two of us have already met."

Jack held his staff in both hands and pointed it at Dagur. However, Hiccup motioned to Jack not to even try. Hiccup nodded, sending the message to Jack that he had a plan.

"Well, I must say Dagur, this is quite impressive," says Hiccup. "I mean, you really are the same guy from the last time we met a few years ago, but man have you grown up! A true chief!

"I mean, look at your armada! How impressive." Hiccup held Inferno behind his back and activated the Zippleback gas mechanism. The cloud only grew and grew, and everyone could only hope nothing would ignite it.

Dagur noticed the cloud, but didn't know where it was coming from. Therefore, he only stood there in shock as it grew and grew. With every passing second, Hiccup and the others faded from his view.

Once Hiccup knew Dagur couldn't see him, he led the others out of the arena. After moving through many winding passageways, some of them Hiccup didn't even know were there until just then, they emerged near the blind spot where their rides were waiting. But the blind spot proved useless once they heard a horn, audible throughout the entire island.

Hiccup and Merida quickly mounted Toothless before taking off and grabbing an overhead view of the island. A Zippleback was creeping into the arena, and with one spark from one of the heads, the gas was ignited along with anything inside it. It left the whole arena in shambles, the dome collapsing upon itself.

Astrid joined them as they dodged several nets and bola slings flying their way. Several wild dragons sent continuous blasts of fire to the catapults, destroying many in the process. They went on to attack those who stood alongside Dagur. Hiccup saw a wild Gronckle fire a blast into the arena before it headed into the tunnel along with a Nadder. A few moments later, the Thunderdrum and Scauldron from earlier emerged from the tunnel and went on to continue fighting against Dagur.

Only a few catapults were left standing, giving everyone the chance to escape. They pulled straight up, grabbing the cloud cover as they flew back to Berk.

"Well, we're lucky those wild dragons came to the rescue!" says Merida, sighing in relief that no one was caught.

"Yep, I think we are lucky. But this isn't good. Dagur's back, and I don't expect this one to go down like the way it did last time," replies Hiccup. "He's grown, but I have too."

Everyone took a flight back to Berk. They landed in the academy to find everyone else just relaxing. Snotlout was trying to get into Rapunzel's head before he noticed them inside.

"You two? Last of all places? I think someone else is going down as best dragon trainer now, hmm?" teases Snotlout.

"Cut it," says Astrid. "Dagur's taken over Outcast Island. Again."

"Dagur the Deranged?" asks Fishlegs with a worried look on his face. "But I thought he was done for."

Tuffnut leaned over to him. "Well, he must be back stronger now," he says, trying to get into Fishlegs. "Man, that armada."

"He still brings it wherever he goes," mentions Astrid.

Gobber stepped forward toward Hiccup. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

"Well, he's stronger than before," starts Hiccup, proving Tuffnut's point. "But he's still the same guy. Unpredictable, grumpy, and real full of himself."

"Sounds like you," Jack whispers to Bunnymund, who only scoffed and looked away from him.

"The trappers are working for him," continues Hiccup. "Honestly, I'm not so surprised because he is still obsessed with trying to kill dragons. Well, I'll keep telling him it won't work, but who is he to even trust anything I say anymore?

"But one thing's for sure. We know that these trappers are with the exact same people trying to get into DunBroch. I mean, why would there be three successive attacks on three different places? First Corona, then DunBroch, then Berk. If Dagur is working with the trappers, then he's also working with those trying to raid DunBroch and Corona. But he wouldn't want those two kingdoms. They're completely void of dragons, which is what he lives for. And those guys raiding DunBroch were neither his armada nor any Dragon Trappers."

"Meaning?" asks Rapunzel.

"Dagur the Deranged isn't the only one behind all this."


	7. Disturbances

Snoggletog celebrations came in very slowly that year. Many of the villagers thanked Odin that no attacks came in that day. After all, it isn't strange for someone to crash a holiday. One enraged Whispering Death could've ruined the entire day for everyone. And with Dagur at possibly his highest point since the time he defeated Alvin at Outcast Island a few years ago, finding someone worried about a Snoggletog crash wasn't a strange sight. Many started the day anxious, but it quickly dissipated as the celebration continued.

The others got their own taste of the annual celebration. Upon first glance, both Jack and Bunnymund suggested it would be too much like Christmas, and boy were they right about that. It was to the point of celebrating it like Christmas, just no presents. (Sorry North.)

"For you, milady," says Snotlout as respectfully as he could, holding out a cup of yak butter parfait toward Rapunzel.

Rapunzel didn't respond for about a second, and snapped her head to face Snotlout as she realized he was talking to her. "Oh. Uh, thanks," she says nervously, stuttering between words. "But I think I'll pass." Rapunzel walked away from Snotlout. "But thanks anyway, Snotmouse!"

Snotlout just stared as Rapunzel left, joining the others. "It's Snotlout!" He lowered his voice, looking back at the cup in his hand. "Mmm. How could anyone decline any offering of yak butter parfait?"

Rapunzel joined Merida and Jack, who were off at a nearby table in the Great Hall. She dug into a chicken leg, making sure to steer clear of the Yaknog sitting on the table. It was right there in the middle, and no one bothered to get rid of it for two reasons. One, there's no place to dump it, and two, the very sight of Yaknog made Bunnymund and Eugene just want to run off into the forest and hurl. It already happened once in the morning. The Yaknog shimmered perfectly in the light, like it was the brightest thing in the entire Hall.

"Why did you pass on the parfait?" asks Jack. "It's so good." He put another spoonful into his mouth and relished the taste of it.

Eugene gave Jack a weird look. "I swear. How many cups is this now? Seems like you just can't let go of the parfait."

"Four."

"And you didn't just… you know, like go through the first three in like, thirty seconds, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did."

Bunnymund jumped into the conversation. "Well, pig out all you want tonight," he says, holding his first cup of parfait for the night. "Because you're going to feel terrible by tomorrow."

A loud cheer erupted through the hall. Everyone was looking at the opposite side of the hall from the table. A target was leaned up against a wall on a shelf with an arrow lodged right in the center. One of Merida's shots, no doubt. No one's ever that accurate. Being the best archer in the land, she surely lives up to that title.

Hiccup went up to a table lined with filled cups. He grabbed one, spotting the Yaknog content inside. It was almost filled to the brim. A small amount even spilled out as he lifted it, missing his hand and the other cups by inches. It splattered onto the table, but it wasn't like that table wasn't already messy at this point. He hesitated for a second, looked around, and placed it back where it was on the table before grabbing the cup next to it, which was filled with yak butter parfait.  _I'm really hoping no one just saw the chief do that,_  he thinks to himself.

The night continued and continued. The moon shone brightly over the village in the clear sky. Well, good to know there aren't any winter storms to expect soon. No Snoggletog crash this year.

They returned to Hiccup's house as the noise in the Great Hall died down, marking the end of this year's Snoggletog. But what came with the midnight after Snoggletog was Christmas.

Almost instantly, everyone fell unconscious upon Hiccup closing the door. No one even bothered to climb into a bed, although they did just have enough left in them to make sure no one collapsed on top of anyone.

* * *

The sun hung low in the sky, slowly ascending with the morning. Hiccup was the first to wake up, as usual. He let out a tired yawn, still exhausted from last night.

He left the house, stepping into the morning sun. The bickering cold lashed out at him and into the house, and Hiccup was thankful no one ended up waking because of it.

He found Toothless outside, ready for a quick morning flight, as usual. Hiccup didn't hesitate for one second. He instantly mounted Toothless, and the two toward the skies. This morning, clouds were present. They were scattered as far as one could see from the ground.

Looking at the village from above, they could spot an opening on the face of a cliff, near the bottom, where waves lashed up against the rock violently. It wasn't the hangar; that was near the top of a different cliff and was located on the other side of the village. Instead, the tunnel was perfectly circular, and its diameter was much, much smaller than the length of the hangar.

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged glances before deciding to investigate. It was a Whispering Death tunnel, no doubt. But what is it doing on Berk? Did someone just happen to try and sneak in another batch of Whispering Death eggs onto the island?

The tunnel was just wide enough for Toothless and Hiccup to fly inside, meaning the tunnel must have been dug by an adult. A hatchling's tunnel was too small for them to fly into.

They navigated through, Hiccup having to rely on Toothless to get through. Hiccup couldn't see in the dark, so it was pitch black inside that tunnel. He didn't know what he would do if echolocation wasn't one of the Night Fury's abilities. They'd definitely be smashing into walls, that's for sure.

Eventually, the two surfaced in the cove. Having just been here two days ago during target practice, Hiccup knew that this tunnel was only dug several hours ago, one and a half days at most. If this was dug up before that, he would know.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath them started shaking. A few seconds later, it started to split beneath Hiccup's feet. Toothless knocked him out of the way as they watched a Whispering Death emerge from the ground in front of him.

The dragon and Toothless were locked in a face–off before it left them, burrowing into the ground.

"What was that all about?" Hiccup asks to himself, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. "How does a Whispering Death just somehow end up digging through Berk?"

Hiccup decided to look as far down as he could into the tunnel, which really turned out to not be very far at all. "Well, is there too much to worry about now that it's gone?"

After a while, they decided to just return to the village. They were immediately greeted by Astrid upon arriving.

"Well, you're back from the morning flight late," says Astrid, throwing some chicken at Stormfly.

"Yeah. Small incident with some random Whispering Death that just somehow ended up on the island," replies Hiccup. "Well, it's gone now but that just doesn't happen. Those things don't just appear randomly."

"Another one," whispers Astrid before she shrugged. "I don't know. Dagur has tried things like this, and he may be trying to copy Alvin from when he got some Whispering Death eggs onto the island."

"Maybe, but—,"

"Did you check all of its tunnels? Every inch?"

"For the most part, yes."

"No eggs?"

"Nothing. Just complete darkness and a huge hole on the face of a cliff and in the cove."

Rapunzel eventually came up to them. She was holding a singing Terrible Terror. She must have thought it was adorable, like she thought all of the small dragons were adorable. Oh well. If that's her opinion, then no one can argue with her about it.

"What's the buzz this time?" she asks.

"Whispering Death incident in the cove. It's all under control, I can assure you that," says Hiccup.

"Well, you two can go on. I'm going to check out the cove for that Whispering Death," says Astrid before turning and walking off.

"Well, that was easy," says Hiccup, watching Astrid fly into the forest on Stormfly.

Rapunzel then proceeded into the Great Hall while Hiccup decided to drop by his house before and meet them there later. Jack, Bunnymund, Merida, and Eugene were all waiting. They sat at the same table that was there from last night's Snoggletog celebration. Jack and Bunnymund were aware that today was Christmas, but how could one celebrate it here? Really, Snoggletog was their Christmas for this year, just one day earlier.

Fishlegs was sitting at a nearby table, muttering to himself. Rapunzel could have sworn she heard the words, 'whispering death' escape his lips. Only just. She had to come within five feet of him to even hear his voice over the mulling in the Great Hall.

Hiccup was quick, as he and Toothless were back with a large book in his hands. He needed both hands to carry it. It was about as long as his forearm and was pretty thick. "I got it," says Hiccup.

He plopped the book down on the table right in front of them. "The Book of Dragons," he announces to the group. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of. Actually had to go through a ton of revisions in the past years."

Opening the page to the contents, he read aloud: "Stoker class, Boulder class, Tracker class, Mystery class, Tidal class, Sharp class, and Strike class," while pointing at their respective symbols. A Monstrous Nightmare for Stoker, Gronckle for Boulder, Zippleback for Tracker, Changewing for Mystery, Scauldron for Tidal, Nadder for Sharp, and Night Fury for Strike.

He flipped to another page deeper in the book, around the middle of it. On the page was a drawing of a Whispering Death, its gaping mouth showing off rows of rotating teeth. "This is what we were looking for this morning," he says, putting his finger on the picture.

"Ooh," mutters Bunnymund. "Looks real freakish to me. I don't even know if Tooth will like all those teeth."

Jack just shrugged to him and read down the page. "It says its weaknesses are sunlight, metal surfaces, and eels."

"Wait. It's got every dragon's weakness?" asks Merida, jumping in all of a sudden. "What's a Deadly Nadder's weakness?"

"Blind spot in front of its nose, eels, and dragon nip," says Fishlegs as he approached the group from his table.

"Snaptrapper?"

"Eels and dragon nip."

"Night Fury?"

"Eel."

"Augh. Is eel a weakness for every dragon there is? I mean, I haven't heard of one dragon yet that doesn't always keep its butt away from eels! What, are eels like, I don't know, like Hubert, Harris, and Hamish or something?"

"Actually, there is one dragon that actually eats eel."

"And what would that be, if you're so smart?"

"A Typhoomerang." Fishlegs crossed his arms as if saying, "I got this."

Merida just gave Fishlegs a blank, expressionless stare. "You have this book memorized, don't you? How many times have you read it, exactly?"

"Uh… more than I can count," says Fishlegs. "After all, I have been revising it for five years as we continue to study them and…" He spotted everyone just giving them blank stares. "I think I'll go now. Hope that was enough for you!"

Everyone just watched Fishlegs as he scurried out of the Great Hall. As soon as the huge doors closed behind him, Hiccup turned the group's attention back to the book, which was still opened to the Whispering Death's page.

"Training tip, it likes to have its teeth brushed. Train it with no other dragons around," says Hiccup.

"Okay, now that's just going overboard. I think Tooth would appreciate that thing now," says Bunnymund. "She could probably spend hours on end brushing its teeth."

"No kidding," agrees Jack.

Eugene gave Hiccup a nervous stare. "And how exactly is this supposed to help us?"

"Well, if you ever come across one without Toothless and me, then you'll know exactly what to do," says Hiccup. "Rule number one, always know a dragon's weakness, and when it comes to training, always know what your dragons likes and dislikes."

"Eh. Rapunzel's already a natural when it comes to animals," mentions Eugene.

"Okay, then you should know it in case neither of the three of us are around," says Hiccup. "Study up."

"Wait," says Jack, holding his head up. "You mean read?"

"Problem?"

"I'm not a hard–working guy, just so you know." He pushed the book to the other side of the table, toward Rapunzel and Eugene.

"Okay, then don't. I'm not making you read, but at least you know you've got a source of information if you ever need to know anything about a dragon."

Hiccup left them on their own as he went on as chief. He didn't need the book; he's been revising it for years, so most of the things he had to know were already implanted in his mind. If he ever needed to find out how to take care of a wild Zippleback, he'd already know.

Rapunzel was the first to take interest in the book. The others, for the most part, weren't too interested and also left as soon as the doors closed behind Hiccup. They left Rapunzel alone in the hall with the Book of Dragons still open.

"Well, might as well read when I'm at it. No stacks soon," she mutters to herself, flipping back to the contents.

She turned first to the page labeled 'Deadly Nadder.' The sketch was drawn on the page, along with a list of all the information on the dragon.

"Shoots spines, fire hotter than any other dragon in the known world," she reads aloud. "Always approach it from its tail, then smooth the spikes down." She continued to skim through the page before reaching the end. Most of it wasn't really of use, just more information and no training tips.

She continued to skim through the pages of the book. "Rumblehorn, Thunderdrum, Hotburple, Skrill, Night Fury," she says as she turned to their respective pages. "Typhoomerang, Smothering Smokebreath, Changewing, Bewilderbeast…

"Screaming Death. The third largest after the Bewilderbeast and Red Death, this dragon is a subspecies to the Whispering Death. It hatches only every hundred years, the last known hatching five years ago. Its egg and tunnels can be differentiated from that of a Whispering Death by its massive size. Its tunnels are so large, they can cause whole islands to cave in on themselves. Six spike shot limit, it also lets out a deafening roar that can disorient other dragons for a short time. Never engage this dragon alone. Untrainable."

Rapunzel's finger landed on the last word on the page. "Untrainable," she repeats to herself. She continued to repeat the word. "An untrainable dragon?"

* * *

Hiccup continued scanning the cove as Rapunzel waited alongside him. A lantern was sitting near the pond inside, clear from the tunnels dug up by the Whispering Death earlier that day. Clouds began to roll over Berk, the air temperature cooling by the minute in the snowy cove.

"Yeah, I just realized the book had no training tips on the Screaming Death," says Rapunzel. "Is there like another book? Maybe some piece of parchment or something having to do only with Screaming Death?"

"You're acting like me," mentions Hiccup. "Screaming Death is not trainable. Don't even dare to try it."

"I'm not afraid of it," says Rapunzel.

Hiccup turned his head at her. "When did I ever say you should be afraid of the Screaming Death?" he asks, shocked by her statement. "And as far as I remember, the book doesn't tell you that either."

Hiccup looked back down the Whispering Death tunnel in the cove, still finding nothing but the darkness down below.  _Dare I do it,_ he thinks to himself.

He took a seat next to Toothless, his feet hanging down into the tunnel. It was pitch black down there. "Can these things ever dig straight?" he asks himself. He patted Toothless before he rose back to his feet and grabbed the lantern from the edge of the pond. Once he was back at the tunnel entrance, he slowly began to lower himself down into the pit.

"Wait! What are you—,"

"I'm going down there. Find out what's in those tunnels," says Hiccup, cutting off Rapunzel.

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Fine then." Hiccup continued to lower himself into the tunnel. Toothless followed him and came down once Hiccup found a decent spot to stand on, where he wouldn't fall on him.

Rapunzel was the last to lower herself into the tunnel. Feet hitting the rock at the bottom of the hole. It continued to her left into a series of passageways, like a giant ant colony.

Toothless lit the lantern and Hiccup held it up as they walked throughout the tunnel. The dim light it provided wasn't much, but it was enough to at least see both walls at once. They couldn't see more than ten meters in front of them.

Eventually, the tunnels began downward once again. They continued downward at a gentle slope, not too steep for them.

On their way down, they spotted a tunnel dug above them, straight up. Further down in front of them was water. Great. No way down anymore. The dark water glimmered in the light of the lantern. They backed up to the tunnel dug above. It was much too narrow for them to fly through, considering Toothless's huge wingspan, but they could probably navigate through it.

Hiccup waved his hand and pointed down the tunnel. Toothless promptly fired off a bolt down the tunnel, and once it had impacted with the ceiling, it lit up the entire passageway. They jumped up into the passageway. It took some effort to pull themselves up, but they managed.

Continuing upward, they soon reached a point where the tunnel split in two. "Your move," says Hiccup, pointing both ways.

Rapunzel chose to go left. By now, Hiccup suspected they were under the village, right above their water supply. It wasn't easy to tell in the blackness of the tight passage. He was just hoping none of these tunnels dug into their wells.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever. There was no end in sight in either direction. By now, they didn't even know which way to go to get back up.

Soon, the cave began to open up into a small room. Toothless lit it up, revealing several gems scattered around the floor. No, not gems. They were glowing, flashing colors. The colors cycled every few seconds, but they were changing constantly. Hiccup recognized them as what some people called 'stones of good fortune,' otherwise known as…

"Changewing eggs," mutters Hiccup, picking one of them up.

"What?" asks Rapunzel.

Hiccup inspected it in his hand, making sure it wasn't some hoax. Yep. Real as something real could get.

"These are Changewing eggs. Changewings can camouflage in any environment. Makes them nearly impossible to see. Even newly hatched ones can spray acid.

"This has happened once before, only they used Whispering Death eggs. That's where Screaming Death came from."

"Then what do we do?"

"Gather all of them first." Hiccup set his lantern down on the ground.

They began to pick up all the eggs they could find. There weren't too many for them to handle, but they were pretty tough to hold without the danger of one dropping to the ground. Each of them managed to get five Changewing eggs in their hands, requiring them to use their bodies for support. The combination of seeing all those eggs flashing in different colors all at once forced both of them to look away from their batch.

"Now what?" asks Rapunzel. "Do we go all the way back to the cove and get these to the surface?"

"What other choice do we have?" Hiccup started back to the narrow tunnel.

Suddenly, something broke through the walls around them, piling rubble near the edge of the cave. It crushed the lantern, meaning their only source of light now was what Toothless gave them.

They barely caught the silhouette of a Whispering Death before it opened up another tunnel on the other side of where it came from. From the looks of it, it went downward. Not where they wanted to go.

From where it came from, water began pouring into the cave. In thirty seconds, it had reached their ankles, but it was rising fast. The ceiling of the cave wasn't too high.

"Come on!" yells Hiccup, mounting Toothless. Slowly, making sure he didn't drop any of the eggs.

"Where do we go?" asks Rapunzel as she mounted behind him.

Toothless bounded toward the tunnel the Whispering Death had just dug. They dipped downward before the tunnel suddenly pulled up, leading to a series of twists and turns as they made their way to the surface.

Emerging from the tunnel in the village, they found the Whispering Death high in the sky. Hiccup and Rapunzel headed for Gobber's workshop as fast as they possibly could without dropping the eggs. After dropping them off, Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless. "Stay safe," he says to Rapunzel before taking off.

He found a wooden beam being dissolved by acid.  _Changewings too,_  thinks Hiccup.  _Well, better get those eggs off the island._

Up ahead, the Whispering Death burrowed itself into the ground, a startled Easter Bunny taking its place. He managed to emerge right in front of where the Whispering Death left. Dirt and rocks were scattered around the hole.

An acid shot came flying his way, and he only reacted a split second before it reached him. As fast as he was, he was able to steer clear of it before throwing a boomerang off in the direction it came from. It only swiped air as it came flying back to him, no sign of a hit.

But he didn't know the Changewing's camouflage ability. It managed to sneak behind him, looking like nothing but the snow–covered grass that was always there. Bunnymund was too oblivious, waiting for his target to emerge from somewhere behind a rock as it navigated.

It uncovered itself right behind Bunnymund. He still hasn't noticed. It pulled back, getting ready for another acid spray.

Bunnymund turned around to find the Changewing right there. He shielded himself with his arms in a defensive stance before falling onto his back. "Oh, crikey!

Out of nowhere, Hiccup and Toothless landed in front of the Changewing. It tried to navigate around them, but they just remained in the way, blocking it from getting a direct line of sight to Bunnymund. After a few seconds, it took to the skies, away from Berk.

Bunnymund just watched as it left, jaw dropped. His hand curled up into a fist. "What was that? More of your dragon antics?" he demands, turning around to Hiccup.

"What? Since when did I ever tell you we did that?"

"That 'Whispering Death' of yours took out my tunnels!"

"Oh, and all this time it wasn't even mine."

"Hiccup!" calls out a voice from Gobber's workshop. Rapunzel came sprinting up to them, reminding Hiccup of the colorful Changewing eggs that still rested inside the workshop.

Hiccup left Bunnymund right where we was, much to his annoyance. However, it seemed to dissipate as he followed hiccup down to Gobber's workshop. Finding Jack, Merida, Rapunzel, Eugene, and the rest of Hiccup's friends excluding the twins. Each of them held a Changewing egg. Beautiful but deadly in the fact that seeing it was wondrous, but once it hatches, it's skin to acid in a matter of seconds. Not to mention that eggs explode upon hatching.

Snotlout picked up one of the eggs and eyed it carefully. He grinned before stashing it in a bag, only to have Fishlegs snap at him. Snotlout shrugged like he didn't know what was going on, but Fishlegs was serious about it. He pointed at Snotlout's bag and shook his head. Snotlout gave him a frustrated look before handing over the egg.

"Uh… what are these?" asks Merida, picking up one of the eggs.

"Changewing eggs," answers Fishlegs. "Hiccup, how'd they get on the island again?"

Hiccup just shrugged. "I don't know. I found these eggs in a Whispering Death tunnel about half an hour ago."

"Then we get them back to Changewing Island. I don't want more Changewing attacks on the village. Not like the first time."

"Right, and whose fault was it the first time?" asks Snotlout, trying to get into Fishlegs's head. He scoffed at him, pretending to be the smart one in the group.

"Really? You went there?" says Astrid.

"You're the one who brought all of the eggs here. The one I brought here was an accident," mentions Fishlegs.

"What?"

"Look. We get these eggs off Berk and back to Changewing Island, and all is good," interrupts Hiccup. "Besides, I don't think we'll need to worry about wild dragon attacks as much this time."

Hiccup and Astrid went ahead and took their respective mounts, while Merida went with Astrid and Rapunzel went with Hiccup. Jack would fly on his own, obviously. Each of them carried two Changewing eggs, the ever–so changing colors holding the attention of most (Jack kept one in his pocket). Eugene, Bunnymund, Snotlout, and Fishlegs opted to stay behind. With Dagur still on the loose on Outcast Island, extra caution in the village never hurts.

The sky began to darken, clouds still lined up above them as far as they could see. It wasn't easy to tell what time of day it was at the moment, but most suspected it was around sunset. The eggs in their hands began to stand out even more as the world continued to darken, leaving torch fire as the only light source around.

Without saying a word, Hiccup and the others took off, away from Berk. Off to Changewing Island. A dangerous place, Changewing Island. As its name suggests, the place is packed with wild Changewings.

As the wind beat at their faces, Hiccup could only help but wonder what might be going on at Outcast Island. What's Dagur planning to do from there? Mount another straight up invasion on Berk with his Armada? But it never works.

 _Well, he's tried to pull something off with these,_  thinks Hiccup, eyeing one of the Changewing eggs in his hands.  _For all I know, we could be flying straight into a trap._

A large forest island came into view, barely visible in the dead of night. Changewing eggs were scattered all over the island, most placed on tree branches. They stood out, cycling through the same color scheme as the eggs they held.

"We're here," says Hiccup.

Just nearing the island created a sense of danger for everyone. Merida tried her best to reach for her bow, but to no avail as her hands were full. They knew they couldn't see Changewings unless one should just happen to reveal itself to them.

They landed near the beach, listening as waves lapped up against the sand. Other than that, the place was completely silent. The eggs in the trees were still clearly visible. They seemed to remain in everyone's field of view, no matter where they looked (except for straight down).

Some rustling in a nearby bush grabbed everyone's attention, but they brushed it off as just a wild Changewing navigating its way toward them.

It was their cue to drop the eggs and move away. They did so and backed off toward the ocean, where they posed as no real threat to the wild Changewings. Looking down the beach, they found a boat marked with a Skrill. It was barely visible, but there was no doubt that someone else was on the island.

Hiccup's eyes widened upon realization, but it was too late. Suddenly, every surrounding sound was drowned out by the muffled voices of his friends struggling behind him. A glimpse of Jack crossed his vision, meaning he managed to get away from them.

A pair of men armed with bola slings emerged from the tree line. Jack raised his staff while Hiccup held Inferno without deploying it. Doing so would fully reveal them, and that's not something they would really want now.

Toothless and Stormfly reeled back before the bola slings came at them. Both found their targets, and the two dragons were grounded in less than a second.

"Oh man…" mutters Hiccup, still listening to the muffled voices of Merida, Astrid, and Rapunzel.

They were surrounded by several men armed with crossbows, all pointed toward Hiccup and Jack. One by one, more and more Berserkers seemed to emerge from the forest in an endless line. Is there even a limited number of Berserker tribe members?

Hiccup and Jack stood down as Merida, Astrid, and Rapunzel were all tied to a nearby tree, much closer to the forest. It sparked worry in Hiccup. A wild Changewing could come out of nowhere and make short work of all three of them any second. And trying to break out now would probably end up with both of them receiving acupuncture.

 _How did we manage to get ourselves into this,_  thinks Merida as the Berserkers took her bow, along with Astrid's axe.

Eventually, the line of Berserkers ended with Dagur coming out of the forest.

"Dagur! Whoo! You are looking real… dreadful, today," says Hiccup, trying to sound as cheerful as he could. "How's running Outcast Island been the past few days, and by the way, why were you even on Changewing Island to begin with?"

"I think we can propose a deal," says a voice emerging from the forest. Everyone knew it was Dagur long before he appeared.

Hiccup just moaned. "Another one? Dagur, I don't mean to break the news for you, but do you realize how many times you've tried to propose a deal with me?"

Jack received the message that Hiccup was trying to stall for as long as he could, but for what reason? Hiccup couldn't do anything while he was stalling, and the others couldn't move around to begin with.

Jack lined his staff up with his arm before snapping it to point toward the tree the others were tied to. Dagur could see it; he was too busy 'conspiring' with Hiccup.

"I'll say this. You have a choice this time. You can take your Night Fury," he says, watching Toothless struggle under the bola sling, "or you can take your friends."

Hiccup grunted. "And how do I know you're not going to break your promise and kill everyone?"

"Easy. You can walk toward the one you want to take home with you, and I'll take the other one back to Outcast Island with me."

"I still think you're going to kill whoever you take back to Outcast Island."

"Ah, Hiccup. Do you ever trust someone for once in your life? What makes you think you can't trust me on this one?" It was getting clear that Dagur was growing more annoyed by the minute.

Hiccup scoffed. "After everything you did five years ago? I'm sorry, but if that never happened I'd be on my way home." He was lying. Of course he'd try to take both choices no matter what.

A wild Changewing came flying overhead before it was quickly shot down, trapped under a net. Hiccup watched as it landed right next to a group of Berserkers, cringing and looking away as a sword was driven straight through its body. One minute passed before it gave out one last dying breath before all motion stopped. After that second, no one could even stand the sight of the dead dragon. Disturbing, to say the least.

"You don't know what you're doing," says Hiccup, taking a step forward. He quickly backed off the second several Berserkers raised their crossbows at him.

"Oh, what I'm doing here? That's easy to answer! Changewings, being hard to find, are extremely dangerous and hard to kill. But that's why I'm here. If I can find and take down a wild Changewing, then it's simple sword–to–neck treatment for your Night Fury. But of course, I don't exactly plan on doing that yet either.

"Or, I would have someone plant Changewing eggs under of your lame excuse for a village."

Dagur let out a maniacal laugh, like he often did without warning. He was deranged, after all. "Your move. Your friends, or your dragon."

"Huh. Pretty tough choice to make," says Hiccup, continuing to stall. "By the way, which way would I go to get Stormfly? And don't assume that just because I'd have to pick Toothless to also get Stormfly means that I will pick him, or the other way around."

Dagur thought for a moment. "I'd put the other dragon with your friends. It's hers after all."

Hiccup looked at the girls. Then to Toothless. Then to the wild Changewing knocked dead, gritting his teeth as he did so. He thought back at how they took it down. First downed, then it was an easy kill right after that.

Hiccup remembered Gobber's words from long ago. "If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

And it was true. Completely true. If one could keep a non–tidal class dragon on the ground with no way of escaping, it's an easy kill from there. One swift motion with a sword, an axe, even a small pocket knife would be able to take down a grounded dragon.

Some rustling off in the forest. More wild Changewings, that's for sure. But how many are left, as Dagur said he was Changewing hunting? Toothless let out a series of roars and shook around, trying to break free from the bola sling.

Dagur shot an annoyed glance at him. "Hey! You shut up right now, or I'm taking your head home no matter what!"

After a few seconds, Toothless stopped and laid silently on the ground, still trapped by the bola sling.

 _A downed dragon is a dead dragon,_  thinks Hiccup.  _That means if it can fly, it can get away. If it can fly, it can fight._

By now, the ice had advanced all the way to the tree, freezing the rope that tied the girls to it. Rapunzel knew what was going on and held still, keeping as calm as one could when surrounded by Berserkers.

Hiccup nodded at Jack, who, all of a sudden, sent a blast of ice from his staff straight toward the girls. It unbound them from the tree and they were able to get everything back— Merida snatched her bow from a nearby Berserker while Astrid grabbed her axe off the ground.

Dagur, realizing that Hiccup was planning on walking away with everyone, raised his sword, ready to strike at Toothless.

Merida fired off a shot at Dagur, causing him to drop his sword. It landed right next to Toothless, no harm done.

She positioned herself in between Dagur and Toothless, bow aimed right at Dagur. From this close, a miss by an archer as good as her would be embarrassing.

Dagur pushed her aside, causing Merida to fire. It was going to hit a rock, but the arrow broke in midair, splitting right in two. It took Merida about three seconds to know what was going to happen.

Dagur picked up his sword once again and prepared to drive it through Toothless before another thing caused him to stop. An acid burst came from where Merida had fired, this time nearly hitting Dagur. He was forced to back off about five meters from Toothless.

Merida fled from the scene, finding Hiccup and Jack surrounded by Berserkers armed with crossbows. She was confident Jack and Hiccup could take care of this on their own, but she decided to raise her bow anyway.

She fired at one of the men's crossbows before grabbing another's and pointing it straight toward where she remembered the wild Changewing was.

Out of panic, the Berserker fired, and the bolt landed right in the sand, pointed downward. It was soon followed by an acid shot coming back their way, causing the other men to flee before firing.

Hiccup found the opportunity to rush over to Toothless. Merida covered him from Dagur. She grabbed a sword off of a Berserker, and soon her blade met Dagur's with a loud  _CLASH!_

"You get out of my way!" demands Dagur, trying to fight past the princess. Of course, that title didn't help her right now.

Merida scoffed. "And what makes you think I'd do that?"

By now, Hiccup was able to cut the rope on the bola. Astrid had already freed Stormfly, and they were working to scatter the Berserkers farther away from each other. When they're split up, they're easier to pick off.

"Okay, time to bail," says Hiccup, mounting Toothless.

Astrid decided to mount Stormfly upon seeing Hiccup, Rapunzel boarding behind her. Merida tried to make a run for Toothless once she saw that Rapunzel had decided to go with Astrid. Jack had managed to catch the breeze and flew away first, followed by Stormfly.

She reached for Hiccup's outstretched hand and grabbed it, Toothless beginning to fly away upon contact. However, Dagur was able to lunge at them and grab Merida's left leg. He held a firm grip, and kept himself in a spot where no one could fire at him without hitting Merida.

Merida tried her best to shake him off, but he just wouldn't let go. It's like his hands were glued to Merida's leg.

A crossbow bolt came flying at Hiccup's arm, forcing him to let go of Merida. Dagur pulled her down, and although being knocked off his feet was inevitable, he was able to restrain her before she could even try to fight back.

"Merida!" shouts Hiccup, turning around back at them.

Berserkers next to Dagur held bola slings, threatening to throw them if they moved any closer. Merida looked up at them and shook her head.

They decided to leave her there, Merida watching as they all left. They disappeared into the night sky, the moon shining bright over the island. She glanced back to the forest, finding the many Changewing eggs still in the trees.

Dagur pulled her to a ship on the other side of the island, following the beach. With a captive, he didn't want to risk losing her with wild Changewings still lurking around the forest.

Held below deck and chained to a pillar, Merida tried her best to look at the night sky. "Please," she whispers to herself, thinking of the others on their way back to Berk.

Dagur came downstairs and unsheathed his sword. He held the blade up near Merida's eyes.

Rather than killing her then and there, he let out another maniacal laugh. "I think you're going to make an excellent cell mate with Alvin, princess Merida," he says, emphasizing on the word 'princess.'

"Say goodbye to your kingdom," he continues. "Because after this winter, there will be nothing left." He walked over to some barrels stacked in a pyramid shape and knocked it over. "All reduced to rubble. Just like Mor'du's kingdom."

Merida just continued to struggle under the chains, but no avail.

"All because of you." Dagur climbed back upstairs.

"Outcast Island!" he yells.

* * *

Hiccup looked back at Changewing Island, at the ship that held Merida captive. Dagur had only brought a few of them this time, rather than his whole Armada, probably leaving the rest back at either his tribe or with the Outcasts.

Astrid stared at him as they flew through the night sky. "Hiccup. I know it's hard to watch. But if we want any shot at taking out Dagur, we'll have to get back to Berk."

Hiccup closed his eyes and looked down. "No. We're not going to Berk. Not yet."

"But Dagur—,"

"I know what he's capable of this time. That's why we'll need someone to help us. Someone who's also had a bit of experience with him.

"We're going to Outcast Island."


	8. Migration

Still at sea, Merida struggled under the chains as the ship rocked back and forth. Dagur came back below deck to pay her a visit, just to taunt her even more. Merida tried to look as threatening as she could, although in reality, she was truly frightened by what might happen.

But all he did was snatch Merida's bow from her. He cut the string, rendering it useless.

"I've decided to change our course," says Dagur. "You see, I'm a little bit in a hurry to finish up this deal, so I've decided that you're going to watch your own kingdom crumble."

Merida's eyes widened, knowing that he had changed their course for DunBroch. She remained as silent as she could in order to avoid spilling any information, something he shouldn't know about their kingdom. Sure, Dagur only told her about an hour ago that she would have to watch them invade DunBroch, but this early on?

They neared Outcast Island, the wasteland gradually entering their view. Same island, same design, same everything since they escaped. Only there weren't as many catapults as there were last time. Those wild dragons sure did pack a punch, as the dome around the arena was also destroyed, completely caved in.

The rest of Dagur's armada was waiting at the docks, already prepared for departure. He knew it would be a long trip, which was why they carried so much supplies, looking so heavy.

Dagur didn't even have to set foot back on the island. Once their ship could be seen from ocean level on the island, the anchors were raised and they started south. Toward DunBroch. To the fall of one tribe. They knew that the end of one tribe was inevitable, and they were confident that they would be able to defeat DunBroch. Who cares about the fact that it's also guarded by clans Dingwall, Macintosh, and MacGuffin?

They never even bothered to throw Merida into a cell. Heck, they didn't even bother to bring Merida above deck just so she could catch some fresh air. They just left her sitting below deck, tied up. Surely, they haven't forgotten about her, as she was easily on her way to becoming Dagur's favorite prisoner.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless flew through the night sky. After a slight argument, they finally agreed on having everyone else return to Berk before heading to Outcast Island. They knew Dagur was also headed there, so he took advantage of Toothless's speed and went ahead to drop off Rapunzel at Berk.

Now on their way to Outcast Island, Hiccup suspected that everyone would be home by now.

"Don't worry, bud. We'll find her," mutters Hiccup.

They looked down as the island slowly came into view. They were able to fly in circles over the island due to the fact that they were receiving cover from the night sky. They were nearly impossible to spot up there.

Seeing that Dagur's ship was still far off the island, they dove down into the caved–in arena. The support beams laid on the floor, badly burned from the wild dragons a few days ago. But they weren't here for wild dragons. They were here for Alvin.

They headed into the prison section of the island, completely underground. The cells that previously held the Thunderdrum and Scauldron were completely wrecked. A small bowl of fish was placed in the center of what was the Scauldron's cell.

The human cells were still filled with members of the Outcast Tribe. Most were sleeping, and the others were too tired to notice them sneaking in. The entire place was devoid of guards, but the security level in the cells was higher. Most prisoners were tied up, their arms and legs bound together. Any object or part of the environment that could be used to cut the rope were placed away from their position, on the other side of the cell. Looks like Dagur actually thought this one through.

Eventually, they came up to Alvin's cell. Everyone in an adjacent cell to his was fast asleep. Alvin, however, was fully awake. He didn't show even a single sign of tiredness. Like everyone else, he was tied up in his very own cell, like someone just threw a bola sling at him.

"What are you—,"

"Shh!" Hiccup snaps at him, cutting him off. "They're almost here. Come on. We're leaving right now."

They could hear some footsteps outside, of Berserker weapons scratching the ground. Hiccup knew that Dagur was back already, meaning he had to just grab Alvin and get off the island as soon as he possibly could.

Then, silence. Nothing. Like the whole island had been abandoned. What, did Dagur think that this island wasn't good enough, and now he's leaving all of the Outcasts to rot in their own prison?

"What's with the reduced security?" whispers Hiccup. It was clear that there were no guards.

"Invasion. Something's happening. They're making sure to keep any information away from us, but what I do know is that the tying everyone up in their own cell thing is part of their plan. Like they want to keep us in here with no chance of escaping. After that, I haven't seen one guard pass by."

Hiccup took a glance back down the tunnel just in case there might be any guard, but the island still felt completely abandoned. "Whatever," he mutters to himself, pulling on the cell door. However, the largest opening he could make between the door and its unstable frame was barely enough for even a Terrible Terror to fit through, thanks to the way the rock sloped upward.

Hiccup sighed and pulled out Inferno, slashing through the bars. They were easy to slash through, and like that wasn't enough, the Monstrous Nightmare–powered sword left singe marks on the bars with an opening large enough for him to fit through.

Pulling out a knife, Hiccup cut the rope, freeing Alvin. He still kept a close eye out for any guards. It only takes one to alert the entire island. Or at least what was left of it.

And then silence. Nothingness. No sound but snoring and breathing. And that was it. The island felt abandoned for good.

The two quickly mounted Toothless, and he bounded down the tunnel system of the island, back into the middle of the destroyed arena. Once they were airborne, Hiccup could see that Dagur's ship was farther off the island, like it came back and left immediately.

But the ship wasn't headed for Berk. Instead, it was headed southward, as if there was another tribe or something the Berserkers wanted to pay a visit to. Their own tribe? Hiccup couldn't remember where exactly the Berserker tribe was compared to Outcast Island or Berk.

Hiccup knew Merida was still on one of those ships, still being held captive below deck. But with the whole armada there, trying to free her now would be a suicide mission, even with Alvin onboard.

Maybe the two didn't have the most pleasant past, but at least it's something they could build on. They've developed enough to the point where they could trust each other, if anything.

Toothless turned back to Berk in the night, using cloud cover just in case something might happen. One can never be too careful about things, and no one really cared about having to fly through the clouds.

They arrived at Berk awhile later, most of the village already fallen asleep. They landed near the Haddock house, making sure not to wake anyone inside.

Alvin just decided to settle in the academy. Once he was out of sight in the village, Hiccup and Toothless entered his house quietly, especially on his prosthetic leg. It made a clanking noise every time he stepped, which would definitely be enough to wake someone. He was sure no one would freak out upon seeing Alvin wandering through the village. And if someone should happen to spot him, Hiccup was sure that earning Stoick's trust also earned their trust.

Hiccup found Eugene and Rapunzel in the two beds this time, while Jack and Bunnymund were still awake. Bunnymund signaled for Hiccup to stay quiet as he crept upstairs as quietly as he could. One upstairs, he simply laid down on the floor near the rock slab, which Toothless hopped onto.

Thinking of Merida and where she was being taken, Hiccup closed his eyes.

* * *

Merida found it impossible to sleep. It didn't matter how hard she tried. If she closed her eyes and leaned in the most comfortable position she could get into, it only made it tougher to sleep. She closed her eyes, but was then overwhelmed by the endless thoughts swimming through her brain all at once. So many to the point where she wasn't getting anywhere.

 _What am I going to do,_  says one side of her mind, while the other says,  _I'm hoping they come._  Another part of her head would say,  _Pull it together! You'll have to get out of here yourself._

And she couldn't go anywhere. No plan to hatch in her mind, and she felt as if there was no hope in getting out of this prison.

Taking a deep breath, she allowed her mind to go blank before retracing everything she knew so far. She knew that the Berserker tribe was headed straight for DunBroch. She knew they would probably tie her to a mast and force her to watch her kingdom fall, or worse, the Berserkers would use her as a meat shield. After all, none of the clans wants to be the one to kill the princess.

But that didn't spark any ideas in her head of how to get off this ship. Sure, she always had the option to just wait for Hiccup and friends to come, but do they even stand a chance against an entire armada? One dragon rider, and nets will be flying all over the place.

Simply struggling through the chains wouldn't work. And if she did manage to miraculously break free, her bow was with Dagur.

The only thing she could hear were loud creaking noises and incomprehensible voices from above deck. As far as she knew, no sign of land.

 _Okay, so we're going to DunBroch, where I am going to watch the imminent destruction of my kingdom,_  thinks Merida, sighing.  _Seems fair enough._

_Let's see. By dragon, it takes about one and a half days to get from Berk to DunBroch. I've been on this boat for about thirteen hours._

* * *

"I'm packing," says Gobber as everyone continued to roll out of the Great Hall.

Hiccup stopped him before he could even reach Grump. "No, Gobber. I need you to stay here. I'm putting you in charge while I'm gone," he says, continuing to write a letter.

"But—,"

"But what if I don't come back? We're talking about Dagur for crying out loud! You've seen his armada from five years ago. If anything, they're bigger and stronger from before. I need someone who can run the place while I'm gone." He tied the letter to a nearby Terrible Terror's leg. It flew out of the arena, toward the village.

"What about your mother?"

"Less than a few months since she came back after twenty years in solitude. I doubt it."

"Spitelout?"

"Good luck with that. I think I'll take him just because of that."

"Eret?"

Hiccup scoffed. "And what makes you think a former dragon trapper could run the place?

"Look, Gobber. If there's anyone else here who can run this place even remotely as good as my father, it's you."

Gobber just nodded reasonably, keeping his mouth shut.

"I'll be back. Probably," says Hiccup.

He and Toothless were the last to leave the hall, off into the village. The two landed near Fishlegs's house. He was holding a sack of fish, slinging it onto Meatlug's saddle. Hiccup had Toothless stand away from their place as he alone approached Fishlegs.

"This is such a stupid idea," says Hiccup.

It was Fishlegs's turn for a fake laugh. "Then why did you even suggest it to begin with?"

"Because it's the best idea out there. Sometimes reckless is the right way to go. And we're being reckless right now. You got the root?"

"Yep." Fishlegs reached into his pouch and pulled out an ugly–looking green thing. It looked like someone had puked all over a pile of roots and glued them together. Hair–like parts stuck out of different portions of the plant.

"Dragon nip?"

Fishlegs reached into a different container and pulled some out.

"Alright. Just make sure you keep it away from anything other than Gronckles until my call."

Hiccup left him and flew down to the dock. Most of the ships weren't working at the moment, but one was still in top condition. Alvin stood on the ship along with a small fleet of Berkian Vikings, Spitelout among them. They were still hauling several things onto the ship. A catapult was rolling up a ramp while the fleet was collecting several crossbows. Several nets were also thrown onto the ship, along with fish. Lots of fish, enough to keep them all fed for at least a month. But it wasn't all theirs. Rapunzel and Bunnymund had just boarded. Eugene had opted to stay and help Gobber, Eret, and Valka with the village.

"Remember. Just get to Outcast Island, free everyone, and start heading south," says Hiccup. "I know Dagur went in that general direction. It's a bit of a long shot, but what other choice do I have?"

Hiccup turned to leave. "Alvin's in charge for now," he says, pointing at Rapunzel and Bunnymund. He and Toothless flew up to Astrid's house. She was just about ready to leave, set with her axe and a sack of fish.

"All set?" asks Astrid.

"Yep," answers Hiccup. "Fishlegs already has the dragon root and nip, and Alvin's ship is about ready to leave."

"So, I've been thinking. Dagur's been out at sea for over twelve hours now, headed straight south," says Astrid. "That's very vague."

"I know. So if we don't find them, we can regroup at DunBroch. Place is pretty warm, and the people there are… a bit like us."

"Well, I guess I won't know until I actually see it."

Hiccup buckled his prosthetic leg on Toothless's saddle while Astrid hopped onto Stormfly. They caught Fishlegs leaving the island with both the dragon root and dragon nip.

That's their cue. Hiccup and Astrid took off from their positions. Hookfang and Barf and Belch also took off with Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut respectively. Alvin's ship rolled out of Berk, steering clear of the surrounding ice.

Jack was perched on top of the Haddock House, watching as Hiccup and his friends left. He watched the dragons flying away in an 'X' formation with Fishlegs in the middle. He was ahead of the others, though.

He waited for the group to vanish above the clouds before taking off himself. He went off toward Outcast Island, after Alvin's ship.

When Jack arrived at Outcast Island, the place was completely abandoned. No guards at any posts, no simple villagers, nothing. Just wild dragons scattered around the place, though most were packed in a gorge. He instantly flew down to the arena and into the prison system of the place. The cells were still in the same condition, as were the Outcast Vikings. Tied up in their own cells, left to starve to death.

Jack only pulled at the bars, the doors flying open. They flew off their hinges and across the entire room. The bars slid across the floor with the annoying sound of metal rubbing against rock.

He piled everything that was left of the doors with what was left of the arena dome, caved in. It was packed into what was the cell that held the Scauldron.

Voices filled the cave as Jack left. Standing on the highest point on the island, he spotted Alvin's ship just reaching the island. They all hopped off, each taking nothing more than a knife. Rapunzel and Bunnymund were hauling one of the barrels, full of fish.

Everyone jumped into the arena and into the prison system, where they passed by Jack. Jack flew away from the island, straight south in the same direction as Dagur.

Freeing everyone took about a full minute, with so many Vikings milling around the prison system. The snaps of rope being cut filled the entire cave. By the time were done, Rapunzel and Bunnymund had only just reached the arena. Finding that there was no time to actually head down and drop it off, they simply dropped it onto the rock. The barrel broke open upon impact, several fish pouring out.

Right away, they turned their backs and sprinted back to the ship. Once everyone was back on, Alvin signaled to leave, headed straight south, following Jack.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs grabbed the dragon root from his pouch mid–flight. Everyone was still flying behind him and Meatlug, careful to keep their distance. Gronckles were the only dragon known to be immune to the effects of dragon root, so if one of their dragons went rogue from being too close, everything could just fall apart.

As they neared Dragon Island, Fishlegs grew more and more nervous. He had the biggest, most crucial role in this plan. If he slips up, then everything they've done would be in vain.

"Fishlegs. Just remember the dragon nip if anything goes wrong," mentions Hiccup. "Deep breaths."

But Fishlegs couldn't seem to calm down. That frightened look was glued to his face. He watched the many dragons that were on the island.

"Let's see," Fishlegs mutters to himself and Meatlug. "Several Gronckles, but they're immune. Monstrous Nightmares, Nadders, Zipplebacks…"

He realized who was also on the island. "Thornado, Bing, Bam, and Boom," he says out loud.

"What's that?" asks Hiccup.

"Uh… what are supposed to do about the Thunderdrums?" asks Fishlegs. "You know, Thornado, Bing, Bam, and Boom."

Hiccup thought for a moment. In all the planning they did, not once did his father's old dragon cross his mind. "Just keep the root away from them. Let them stay on the island."

Fishlegs flew over the island, holding out the dragon root. The others forced the dragons up toward him, into the range of the dragon root's effects.

Once the first dragon began to pursue them, Meatlug began to spiral down around the island's spire, toward the other dragons. The others kept low enough that their dragons wouldn't be affected by the root.

Hiccup found four Thunderdrums grouped up in a cave. He landed there, Toothless keeping them in. He continued to watch the dragons following Fishlegs.  _Come on, just a bit longer,_  he says in his mind.

They continued on a frantic path, sometimes suddenly turning or pulling up to avoid someone or something. More dragons continued to follow them, and they were beginning to fight for it. Bursts of fire flew all over the sky.

Once they had felt they gathered enough dragons, Fishlegs started away from the island, ready to stop the dragons from killing each other.

As quickly as he could, Fishlegs switched out the dragon root for some dragon nip to try and calm them down.

Almost instantly, the dragons stopped fighting. They still followed Fishlegs. The others soon took off after Fishlegs when they saw him leaving. Hiccup hopped back onto Toothless and they took off. Thornado, Bing, Bam, and Boom followed them. He didn't want to argue, and because they needed as many dragons as they could get, four Thunderdrums would make a fine addition.

Now, the island felt devoid of dragons. There were still dragons on the island, but not nearly as many as there were before. The balance felt off—over three fourths of the dragons still on the island were Gronckles.

Fishlegs managed to get them flying toward Outcast Island, where they were expecting to pass by Alvin and Jack.

Jack landed on Alvin's ship, knowing that they were now going the right way. In the few hours spent since leaving Outcast Island, the clouds had cleared up for the most part, replaced by a bright orange sunset.

He watched as a huge group of dragons flew over the ship in the same direction as they were headed.

"That must be Hiccup," says Rapunzel.

"Then there's Dagur after this," says Jack. We only know which way he went. We don't even know where he's headed. Heck, can you name every tribe, every kingdom, and every clan located south of Outcast Island?"

"Too many to name."

They headed for a nearby island, one Jack could not name. They anchored the ship a few hundred feet from the island, but they opted to stay onboard—there was no point in leaving the ship.

Fishlegs and Toothless made sure none of the dragons left them. He kept some dragon nip to keep them together, while Toothless was just a backup in case one did happen to split off from the group. They kept them in a cave, which only helped with keeping them in a group.

Everyone stayed at the beach, while those on the ship slept on the boards. Jack opted to stay awake for the night in case something happened. Once Fishlegs and Toothless fell asleep, Jack kept a constant eye on the other dragons to hold them inside.

The next morning, Hiccup woke up early to check on the wild dragons.  _Man, is this risky,_  he thinks to himself.  _We just cleared out all of Dragon Island except for Gronckles._

He glanced at the ship anchored out in the ocean. They weren't expecting them alone to do too much to their Armada—that job was left to the wild dragons. They can surely put a dent into entire armies.

Jack Frost was still awake, although he did look quite bored watching over the wild dragons in the cave. He knew Hiccup was awake but decided not to say anything.

"You've been at that post all night," says Hiccup. "And you don't even look remotely tired. You don't want to… you know, just catch about half an hour of sleep while we're still here or something?"

Jack shook his head. "I'll be fine."

Hiccup shrugged and took his sack of fish, dumping the contents onto the ground. Toothless jumped into the pile and started devouring the mix of salmon and cod one by one.

They waited a few minutes for everyone to wake up. They saw activity on the ship, meaning the others were also beginning to rise. Rapunzel waved at them, causing Snotlout to wave back.

Once everyone was awake, they all knew what to do. Fishlegs held up the dragon nip to lure the wild dragons to him before taking off. Alvin lifted the anchor on his ship the second he saw Fishlegs leaving. After waiting about a minute, everyone else on the island took off, continuing south.

Their flight southward continued. It was boring, especially for Jack, who had to call out exactly where Alvin should go. It was a pain, waiting for them to play catch–up every thirty seconds. He just looked like he was about to collapse under such boredom.

They did pass by several islands, none of which contained any sign of Merida or Dagur. Only wild dragons inhabited those islands, and some even seemed to split off. Fishlegs noticed that the trail of wild dragons grew the longer they flew, along with a larger variety. To name a couple, the trail included a few Snaptrappers and Hobblegrunts. But the original dragons were still there—Nadders and Monstrous Nightmares for the most part.

Most riders trailed off mid–flight as they continued south. Only Fishlegs stayed focused in keeping the distance between him and the pack the same. On a Gronckle, which isn't very fast compared to most others, that wasn't very easy to pull off.

Eventually, after a few more painful hours, they were over a larger island, completely devoid of dragons. On this island, on the face of a cliff overlooking a huge lake, stood a large stone castle. Hiccup just noticed that the number of dragons on each island has been decreasing for the duration of the flight, less and less eggs and wings per island.

But from what Hiccup remembered, he saw no dragons for a whole day before he reached this place. What, has Dagur's overhunting of dragons pushed them all the way here, where they're safer?

"Pull over. Let's land in the forest," says Hiccup, pointing down.

Alvin's ship was still a long way out, but those onboard were still able to see what was going on with the dragons. "We're landing on this island," says Rapunzel.

Bunnymund opened a tunnel and jumped into it. Rapunzel followed after him, jumping into the circular hole in the wood.

They emerged on the island, directly under the dragons. They were spiraling downward smoothly, headed for a stream.

Hiccup knew where they were. It was all too familiar for him. The overhead view of the castle, the stream they landed next to, everything he remembered. It hasn't even been a week since he left, and now he's back. One and a half days' worth of flying straight south from Outcast Island.

With Alvin's ship still approaching the island, Hiccup took a step into the dark forest. "Stay there. I'll take care of this," he says, leaving everyone. He even left Toothless, knowing what there was to offer in the kingdom. He passed by several of Merida's targets in the woods, several arrows lodged in each one. There wasn't one target without its arrow.  _Man. How many arrows does Merida have?_

Hiccup continued to navigate through the forest, climbing over a felled tree along the way. He didn't know the shortest path through this forest.

In enough time, however, Hiccup emerged from the tree line, facing the castle of DunBroch. Security was at its highest level—he could see countless guards patrolling the walls. Hiccup hesitated, but he decided to take the risk anyway and crossed the stone bridge.

The front guards allowed him in, recognizing him from the few days he's been in DunBroch beforehand. Martin, as usual, was still dozing off on the job, leaned up against the castle wall.

Hiccup reached the Great Hall, where he could easily hear the voices of the royal family, or at least what was left of it. Meaning only Fergus and Elinor.

He peeked through the door, creating a loud creaking noise as it opened up. "Hello? Fergus?" he says, voice ringing through the entire hall.

Fergus's head shot up to face Hiccup. He decided to step into the Great Hall. "Oh! Hiccup! Why are you here, I thought you were back at Berk already!"

"I was." Hiccup pulled a chair up to the table and sat. "I flew back here."

"Okay. Boys, you are excused."

The triplets ran off in the castle to continue their mischief. "What is it you need to talk with me for, lad? I see your dragon's not here right now."

"Oh, well, onto the point if you want. I know one of the guys leading those invaders."

"And who might that be?"

"Dagur the Deranged. Chief of the Berserker tribe. I thought he was dead for five years after a Screaming Death on an island back in our archipelago, but nope."

"So what happened? If this uh… Dagur has been lurking around your archipelago, then what does this have to do with us? If we're a day and a half away from you guys, how does Dagur relate to us?"

Hiccup gave him a blank stare. "He has your daughter," he says, expressionless.

Elinor instantly excused herself and left the table, leaving the Chief and the King alone in the hall. Fergus just stared at him, shocked by what Hiccup just said. "So what are you here for?"

"Dagur left one of the islands in the archipelago straight south two days ago with Merida onboard, along with an entire armada. We left about one and a half days ago. In the forest we have a bunch of wild dragons and dragon riders, but that's not the point. What we know is that DunBroch is directly south of Outcast Island, taking that day and a half to get here by dragon."

"And…"

"Actually, I just thought of this now. If Dagur has Merida, he's probably planning on paying DunBroch a visit. We've got Berkians here on the island, set with a dragon army."

"Looks like I'm going to have to inform the lords about this. Oh, I can't believe I'm forming an alliance with Vikings."

Hiccup nodded and left the Great Hall without saying another word. He caught a few stares from several residents who recognized the dragon rider's face.

He reached the stables, finding Maximus, Angus, and Pascal all relaxing. Pascal and Max both came to attention when they saw Hiccup in the stables. The two were sharing a stall, Pascal resting on Max's head.

Hiccup went over and took Maximus out of his stall, dragging Pascal along. "Rapunzel's on this island," he tells them.

 _Oh, I never thought I'd ever have to do this,_  Hiccup thinks to himself as he mounted Maximus. They took off out of the castle, over the bridge, and into the woods. He hurdled over a felled tree, their path angled downward. It felt completely different from riding a dragon, though it did have its similarities.

They reached the stream where everyone was now resting. The wild dragons were under Toothless's control.

"Max! Pascal!" Rapunzel sprinted over to the two as Hiccup dismounted. Pascal reclaimed his rightful spot on Rapunzel's shoulder.

"Come on. We're headed up, and I would stay on foot if I were you," says Hiccup. He turned and started his way back to where he just came from. Everyone followed him, and although it did take some time to get the wild dragons through, they managed to navigate with only one felled tree.

They neared the castle, hearing lots of commotion from the Great Hall. So Fergus called a gathering. The noises inside suddenly went silent. Outside the castle, several guards were still patrolling the grounds. They paid no attention to the Berkians and dragon riders entering the castle, probably under the king's orders.

"Where's this 'army' you speak of?" shouts lord Macintosh from the Great Hall, mocking Fergus.

"Oh, please," says Fergus. "Why must a Macintosh be so full of himself?"

The large doors to the Great Hall opened, and in came the Berkians along with their group of wild dragons, under Toothless.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," shouts Lord MacGuffin. "You never told us we'd be fighting alongside Vikings and dragons!"

"Deal with it, MacGuffin," says Fergus sharply. "We'll accept your declaration for war tomorrow, if that's what you want. But I'll warn you that we're already at war with someone else."

MacGuffin moved his hands around as if to say something, but only a few voice cracks could be heard. He then gave in to losing the argument and groaned in frustration.

* * *

Dagur cut the chains restraining Merida on his ship. Two other Berserkers went on to tie her hands behind her back. She was led above deck, into the bright orange sunset. Ahead was the kingdom of DunBroch, quiet and peaceful.

"Oh, look at your beautiful little kingdom," says Dagur. "I'd hate to see it go, but it's for the best, after. It's for the good of all of us."

He was trying to get Merida to speak up, trying to fire her up.  _He's taunting me,_  she thinks.  _Stay calm._

"Welcome home, princess." Dagur let out an evil laugh as the ships continued to close in on DunBroch.


	9. Getaway

The horn was blown, audible from all corners of the kingdom. Fergus's attention shifted to the main door. He pushed his way through the crowd of Dingwalls, leaving the Great Hall.

Hiccup peeked out of the castle, but he couldn't see what the problem was, or why the horn was blown. Most likely, guards have spotted Dagur's ship approaching the island. Dagur still didn't know the Berkians were in the kingdom. The wild dragons were kept on the ground while Alvin's ship was well hidden in a place where one would have to look twice to find it.

He left with Fergus, telling all of the Berkians to keep them and the wild dragons hidden for the time being. Everyone else was forced to stay put, Queen Elinor watching closely. She observed every move made by everyone, even the Berkians.

Hiccup saw Dagur's ship and immediately retreated behind the castle walls. If Dagur or anyone of his armada knew he was here, then he wouldn't hesitate for one second to fire at the kingdom with everything he had.

"Stay here," Hiccup tells the Berkians as he reentered the Great Hall. "It's Dagur."

Fergus also reentered the Great Hall, signaling for everyone to come out. Obviously, the order did not include the Berkians, but they decided to take the risk and get a closer look. The wild dragons were kept hidden in the Great Hall under Toothless's watch.

They continued down to the docks, where Dagur was waiting. His whole armada was behind him, ready to fire upon the kingdom should anything happen. Elinor's eyes widened, shocked by the size of his armada. It made their previous wars with each other and against the invaders from the north look like child's play.

"King Fergus of DunBroch!" exclaims Dagur in a fake cheerful manner.

"Dagur the Deranged, chief of the Berserker Tribe! Now, why would I ever be expecting you any time soon?" says Fergus, trying not to spill any information about any Berkians lurking about on the island.

"I've been thinking. What exactly could your daughter be doing on the Isle of Berk, hanging out with Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III?"

Fergus knew Dagur had Merida, but Dagur didn't know he knew. "Uh… I'd say she was trying to find a way back to DunBroch."

"Then why, tell me, was she with him on Outcast Island conspiring with Alvin the Treacherous along with the chief of Berk? Tell me why she was on Changewing Island not more than a week later with him? Tell me why she's working with him, working with Princess Rapunzel of the fallen kingdom Corona, working with not one, but two Guardians!"

Man, did he know a lot about what's happened in the past two weeks. How could he possibly know of Rapunzel's kingdom, or about the Guardians? No one ever spilled a word to him, and although Jack was with them the first two encounters, no one ever told Dagur what Jack was. And then there was Bunnymund, whom Dagur has never seen.

Bunnymund reappeared on the armada's lead ship, below deck where he was out of sight. No one bothered to check down there—no one could possibly get there unseen, right?

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware of that. I thought she just got lost, probably took the wrong ship and ended up where she was."

Dagur just grumbled slightly. "Cut it, Fergus." Two Berserkers came forward and tied his hands behind him. Fergus glanced back toward the castle. Hiccup had his back on the other side of the wall closest to them, listening carefully. Jack was waiting uphill, peeking out just enough so he could see Hiccup.

Astrid was forced to literally restrain Snotlout by wrapping her arms around him as he struggled to break free of her grip. She even took them back to the Great Hall. Snotlout mistook it for Astrid trying to embrace him as if she suddenly liked him, which just made him struggle even more.

Bunnymund, still sneaking around below deck of the lead ship, finally found Merida when he decided to take a peek above deck. She was tied to the mast of the ship, trying to get a good look at what was going on with Dagur and Fergus.

The conversation was cut off by a shout, followed by two splashes. Dagur didn't see it, but he could definitely hear the two Berserkers hit the water. He left Fergus right where he was to check on his ship, only to find Merida still tied up and unattended. He double–checked every nook and cranny of the place but ended up empty–handed. No one else on the ship.

Dagur returned to face Fergus again after the confusing search. He was grumbling slightly as his feet flopped over the wood.

Again, sounds, but this time on a different ship. More shouts. More splashes. Dagur squeezed his eyes shut, completely pissed off. He didn't even think twice about it before yelling, "Fire!"

Suddenly, Merida was seen jumping off the ship and colliding with Dagur. But the Berserker catapults had fired upon the kingdom, headed straight for the castle. Most people just watched as each projectile reached the kingdom, some coming up short. Some tried to make their way back up to the castle, others tried to engage them while they were still at sea, while they still had the upper hand.

All the commotion sent the dragons in the Great Hall into a state of panic, breaking Toothless's control over them. It also caused Astrid to lose her grip on Snotlout, who fled the Great Hall and tried to find Hookfang. Fishlegs saw them pouring out, and since there was no turning back from here, he found Meatlug, mounted her, and took off with the dragon root in hand.

Dagur, though still towered over by Merida, managed to catch a glimpse of what was going on. "Oh, I see," he says to himself. "They had this here all along."

"Hello Dagur," grumbles Merida. "I don't think you'll be able to strike any deals with DunBroch. Or Berk. Or even the Guardians."

"I wasn't planning to," says Dagur, grabbing his sword and swiping it at Merida. She managed to jump back in time, back toward the kingdom. Seeing the opportunity to run, she turned her back and made a beeline for the kingdom.

Dagur was about to follow her, but he wasn't aware that Bunnymund had snuck back onto the lead ship. An egg bomb came flying straight toward him, blowing up right in front of him. A wall of pink smoke formed around him, rendering him unable to see anything more than two meters in front of him. He decided to turn away and head back to the others, who were just reaching land. He didn't know the island nearly as well as Fergus did, so he decided not to take the risk of navigating through a smokescreen. "Trappers!" he yells.

The wild dragons above went completely mad with Fishlegs holding the dragon root. He tried to take it lower, hoping that the wild dragons would take out maybe a ship or two. Maybe even attack them directly. But there wasn't even five seconds between Dagur's voice and the first net that came their way.

Panicking, Fishlegs dropped the dragon root, and it somehow managed to end up on a ship, rolling around. Those onboard were made aware of its presence by a loud thud, along with finding the root rolling around the ship.

All of the wild dragons instantly stopped following Fishlegs and converged onto the one ship, taking it out in less than ten seconds. "Must suck for whoever was manning that one," mutters Fishlegs. The root sunk into the water with an inaudible and nearly invisible splash as it went with the ship, causing chaos to ensue with the wild dragons. With nothing to control them and people attacking from different directions, they all seemed to split off and fire straight at whatever they desired.

Hiccup assumed Dagur knew he was on the island. That meant there was no harm in revealing himself to the armada. He was now headed downhill, although Toothless was still up in the castle. Fergus and the lords were watching the wild dragons working everything out.

Astrid came rushing down along with Toothless. The twins flew straight over them, creating a wall of explosive gas in front of the armada. Many of the wild dragons were already downed by the Berserker nets, leaving the clans as DunBroch's only line of defense.

Hiccup quickly jumped onto Toothless as they passed by. He didn't even stop to say anything to Astrid as they took off toward Fishlegs.

Merida ran in the direction opposite of all the action. She was still headed up toward the castle, dust thrown up by the countless rock that had rained down on the kingdom. Her view and pathway was obstructed, but not so much that she couldn't navigate up to the castle.

All clan members were present this time. Or at least those who haven't fled yet. While they were badly outnumbered by Dagur's armada, they still somehow managed to hold them off. Was it because of the assistance from the dragon riders? Maybe, but they had their own matter to attend to in this fight. Those trappers were a big issue.

With Hiccup and the other riders now in the air, only about half of their squadron of wild dragons was still up. The rest were trapped under nets or ensnared by bola slings. But whenever a wild dragon crashed into a ship, that ship would usually go down with it, as the impact drew holes on the sides. Water continued to flood onto the ship until the thing was finally submerged as far as it could possibly go.

"Probably want to take out those catapults first," Hiccup calls out as he barely dodged a net. He was a priority target, not only because Dagur thought of him too much, but because Toothless was an alpha, because he was the chief. The commander. Yet again, they didn't know that Toothless was an alpha.

By now, Merida was back up at the castle. She couldn't just jump in there, not without a bow and some arrows. No, they were still on the ship, and with the amount of Berserkers already on the island, any attempt to grab it would be suicide.

She fled back into the castle along with a few others, hoping the battle would just die out already. She felt she had enough of this war, enough of Dagur, enough of these invaders. Three attacks in what, two weeks? It feels like they won't ever stop coming until DunBroch falls.

Berserkers continued to set foot on the island, pushing the clans back uphill toward the castle. At some point, Alvin decided to join them, knowing it would be useless to keep hiding. On land, they were losing this fight, but back out at sea, they were told otherwise.

A good chunk of the catapults have already been taken out by the riders. Most of the ships that still had proper dragon trapping equipment were too far out, meaning they couldn't target the riders.

However, most of the dragons were beginning to reach their shot limits. Toothless, for one, was already out, all six shots exhausted. Snotlout and Hookfang have used eight of their ten, and Fishlegs and Meatlug have used five of six. Eventually, they simply just resorted to landing on a ship, destroying whatever was on it with whatever weapon they had, and then leaving. There were a few close calls, like when a blade missed Astrid's ankles by inches when she jumped off the port, trusting Stormfly to pick her up.

It was easier for Hiccup because he had the Monstrous–Nightmare–and–Zippleback–powered sword on him. He could choose between cutting and burning the supports or just simply blowing it up with the gas.

Dagur looked back to the ships and grumbled in frustration. I'm not losing another fight here! I am not going to just end up giving DunBroch both their daughter and dragons!

"Sir! We're surrounded from all sides!" yells a Berserker.

Dagur just became even more frustrated with every word he heard. He scanned his surroundings as arrows flew overhead. They were losing this fight, and he knew it. Suddenly, he spotted an opening that would lead him straight to the forest. It was a straight pathway, too simple that simply trying to walk down it would cause all eyes of the kingdom to shift to him.

So he used what was left of Bunnymund's egg bombs. The smoke provided enough cover for him to successfully navigate the open battlefield to the forest. He didn't care that he was leaving his entire tribe there. He only cared about getting himself out of this situation.

So he managed to use the smokescreen for cover. Along the way, he did trip several times—he couldn't see his feet. But scraped knees was the least of his worries. He can tend to that later, in a safer place.

He decided to hide in the forest. Watching the rest of his tribe get trampled by the kingdom, its clans, and the alliance with Berk, he determined it was best to just run. Run into the forest, where it would take countless search parties to find him.

But is this now a survival game? Is he to just survive on this island for as long as possible? If they find him, they're just going to execute him. If he remains missing, he won't be able to do anything without a ship or his armada.

I take it everywhere I go, he thinks, navigating through the trees. The sun hung low, and he could barely see a thing.

He even ended up bumping into a tree trunk or two. Soon, he reached the sea again, on the other side of the island. Looking around, he found nothing but an anchored ship. He smirked when he spotted the Berk crest on the sail waving in the wind.

Back in the kingdom, Rapunzel was tending to Pascal and Maximus while Hiccup was having a conversation with Fergus and the lords. It wasn't the prettiest, as MacGuffin still felt nervous about having both Vikings and dragons in the kingdom. He argued that Vikings were once their enemies, but Fergus would always say that it was all behind them. Eventually, though, he did submit to allowing them to roam around DunBroch.

Everyone found their old rooms from when they were in DunBroch the week before and settled there. It didn't look like they'd be leaving any time soon, and the clans were still rounding up stray Berserkers.

Rapunzel met with Jack near Max's stall. She was finally able to be with him and Pascal after nearly a week.

"I doubt that's anything close to what Dagur has to offer," says Jack.

A member of clan Macintosh rushed by, straight into the castle. A loud voice arose from inside a few seconds later, and the door burst open. Fergus and Alvin stood in the doorway, the Macintosh member fleeing the castle.

"No sign of Dagur, he says," mutters Alvin. "Talk about not finding Dagur in that forest, I'm going to find Dagur in that forest whether it kills me or not. Whether it takes me five minutes or a million years. I'm going to find him." Alvin paused. "And then when I do, I'm going to rip his teeth out with my bare hands, and then I'm—,"

"Whoa," says Rapunzel, cutting him off. "Holding a grudge there, are you? What's with this attitude around Dagur?"

"Justified if you ask me," says Alvin. Rapunzel gave him a questioning look, as this was clearly not the answer Rapunzel was looking for. "You wouldn't know what it's like to be ripped away from your homeland twice."

"Do I?" challenges Rapunzel. "Maybe you're the one who doesn't know what it's like to have your kingdom destroyed! Outcast Island may have been taken over by Dagur, but everything that was there before was still there when he took the place. For my kingdom? They ripped the whole place apart from the inside, using everything they can find for nothing that would do either of us any good!"

Jack and Fergus exchanged glances. Did Jack remember clearly what happened back in Corona? That wasn't how Jack remembered the fate of the kingdom. He didn't see it ripped apart from the inside. Rather, he saw the invaders raiding the island, and that was it. But after all, she was the last person to see it. But how could she see what was happening from the forest? "You're making up the 'kingdom destroyed from inside' part, are you?" he asks.

"Actually, in fact, I'm assuming that's what they did when I had my last look at home." Rapunzel ran off the sentence as if she had something else to say, but she kept silent.

"Anyway, I'll see you guys after sundown. I'm going out there." Alvin trailed off and left, disappearing into the woods. No one even made an attempt to stop him from reaching the forest.

"Okay," says Jack, "back to what I was saying before.

"I doubt that's close to anything that Dagur had to offer. Do you think he'd even try to take the kingdom if that was the kind of performance his armada would put up?"

"Probably not," replies Rapunzel.

"Exactly. Him back there? That was pathetic. I'm telling you. Pa-the-tic. So bad that it's even dawned on me that he may have planned for this to happen."

Hiccup walked into the stables, the unmistakable clanking of his prosthetic leg resounding through the stables every time it touched DunBroch's soil. "You are aware that we're right back where we started, right?"

Rapunzel and Jack thought for a moment, realizing that they were. The only difference was that Eugene's spot was filled by Bunnymund, whose current location was unknown at the moment (he's so fast).

"Am I the only one who realized that Dagur's armada performed like they were improvising from the start?" asks Jack after he found that they were going in circles.

"Yes you are," says Rapunzel. "So what are you going to do if you're right? What can we do if you think Dagur planned to lose?"

Jack inhaled deeply, held up a finger, and kept silent. Somewhere the words were lost in the transmission between his thoughts and his mouth, resulting in only a slight crack in his voice. He exhaled saying, "Yeah, I have no idea."

Hours passed since Alvin left. No sign of him, Dagur, or any member of the Berserker tribe. Everyone from the Berserkers was already accounted for and locked up, filling up over half of DunBroch's prison system. Some were even locked up in the cellar, and with that many people confined to one space, it's hard to not sweat even if it was winter.

Suddenly, Alvin reappeared in the kingdom. No one noticed him enter—people only became aware of his presence once he was inside the castle. "He got away!" he mutters to himself in the Great Hall, rage swelling inside him. "He took my ship and left!" he shouts one hundred times louder.

Most of the gang was able to hear him. Rapunzel chuckled lightly and slowly crept in the opposite direction from which the voice came as it resonated through the various hallways in the complex. Jack was already in the Great Hall and ignored Alvin and letting him take his rage out on one of the life–sized bears lined on the walls of the hall. He grabbed an axe and tossed it, the blade clipping the head. And in all the chaos between Alvin and the life–sized bear, Merida just had to be out for target practice in the kingdom's fields while Hiccup and the other riders decided that in the meantime they should go hunting for Dagur.

With Alvin's arms still flailing around, a deep ringing could be heard throughout the kingdom. For those outside, their eyes fluttered toward the sky, seeing dark figures zoom across their vision from far away. Looking out toward the sea, a small white cloud could be seen progressing toward the kingdom with every passing second.

At first, most passed it off as just fog, but taking a closer look, they realized it wasn't; it doesn't just travel like that. A smokescreen, perhaps?

In the Great Hall, Fergus had already pulled Alvin away from the kingdom's life–sized bear and was rebuking him for his behavior.

"And what do you suppose you want us to do? Hide and wait until Dagur destroys the entire kingdom, perhaps every kingdom out there? Hide and wait for him to hunt you down?

"You're just like how Stoick was back then. A coward who would only remain at home and wait for his enemies to pay him a visit.

"And what did that get him? It let my tribe take over his village, albeit only for a short time, and it also got him captured by Dagur, even with me fighting on his side the entire time!"

"Maybe, but—,"

He was cut off by the blowing of a horn in the fields. How is that even possible? Dagur's attack was only a few hours ago, and more than half of his tribe was locked up in the murky prison system.

"Oh, for the— what is it this time?" exclaims Fergus, completely riled. He stormed out of the castle, where clan members were pointing down toward the sea. He did see the 'cloud' but he had no idea what exactly it was. But whatever it seemed to be, it was closing in on DunBroch. It rapidly approached the kingdom, covering ground at a steady pace.

No one knew what it was. Hiccup and the other riders were a long ways out—too far away to hear or see any activity in the kingdom.

So they just waited. They waited for the smoke cloud to reach them, so they could find out what it was. As a precaution, they all held their weapons in hand. Spears, swords, and bola slings were all in the hands of clan members.

But once the smoke cloud reached their kingdom, it was just chaos from then on. People were being sucked in by the cloud and spot out a few seconds, later, stripped of their weapon.

It went on for a couple of minutes. By then, nearly everyone had lost their weapons except for bows. The sword–holders seemed to be a huge target—they were the first to lose their weapons, followed by those armed with bolas and spears. Everyone's shields were also snatched. The ones holding bows seemed to be targeted the least. A single arrow would be snatched here and there, and that was pretty much it. Other than that, they were left untouched, even as they sent several arrows flying into the cloud or slapping something in there with their bows.

A small figure shot out of the cloud. It was too dark to see very well, but once could easily spot the pair of wings along with a huge mouth. Both must have been at least the size of its body, maybe even a bit larger. It instantly took off toward the forest, away from the kingdom.

Then, one by one, figures shot out of the cloud, which was shrinking with every passing second. Each one looked the same. Soon enough, the cloud of white smoke had ceased to exist, and every weapon and shield possessed by the clans except for the bows were gone as well.

Then it was over. They were gone in a flash. In the end, they left no marking that showed that they have even visited the place. The only thing that proved they were there was the thing that wasn't there. It had not even lasted five minutes.

Merida came dashing into the scene to find that everyone was weaponless. She had ignored the horn earlier, knowing how there was no chance that Dagur could be back already.

But to find everyone weaponless? That's not what she was expecting when she dashed into the kingdom. Finding it out seemed almost impossible to the point where it was almost comical in a way, but knowing that it was a serious matter, she tried her hardest not to show any sign of amusement.

"Uh…" starts Merida, still wondering what had happened. "What just happened now?"

Fergus grunted as he helped himself back onto his feet. "Something, I don't know. But it took all of our weapons. Swords, bolas, spears, everything but the bows."

All of a sudden, Hiccup and Toothless were seen landing behind Fergus. They looked like they had just finished that last stretch in a race, but that didn't stop Hiccup from hurrying over to Fergus.

"We saw everything," says Hiccup. "From the smoke to the kingdom off to somewhere else.

"We were too far out to try and head back. They beat us here by a longshot, and now it has cost you your weapons."

"What were they?" says Fergus quizzically.

"Smothering Smokebreaths," answers Hiccup. "A mystery class dragon, it hoards metal objects to build its nest in order to protect itself from larger dragons."

"And how would you know so much about that?" says Dingwall, challenging his knowledge.

"Because I come from an island where you can find a dragon every ten feet you walk. Believe me, Berk's been in this situation before, without their weapons. Back when Dagur was on the loose for the first time.

"But first thing's first. What you want to do is locate the nest. Seems simple enough, right?"

"Aye," mutters Fergus.

"Unfortunately not. You're pressed on time. Its fire can melt steel, which it then reforms to make its nest. So once that sword of yours is gone, it won't be easy to reform it. And it will only get worse from this point on. They're going to keep coming back for more metal until they've stripped you of all metal available, from your weapons all the way down to something like my leg."

The level of panic only rose once they found out they had a time limit. How are they supposed to find a Smothering Smokebreath nest—which is often well hidden—in a period of less than a day? Maybe Berk was robbed of their weapons too, but they knew more about dragons than those on DunBroch. And DunBroch residents may only learn a mere fraction of what Berkians know about dragons.

The rest of the gang flew into the kingdom, landing right in front of the clans. Tuffnut was talking very loudly, his voice able to reach the other side of the forest. He was talking about blowing something up (what a surprise!), and somewhere he mentioned Dagur.

Astrid shut him up him a few seconds after they touched ground. Tuffnut shut his trap and looked forward to find the entire kingdom staring at the five of them. "What?" he asks.

Astrid observed the crowd to find everyone weaponless except for bows. If they were running around with bows and arrows, why didn't they have anything else to carry around? They didn't see the cloud, so they were all confused as to what exactly was going on.

"Alright. What happened here?" asks Astrid.

"Uh, funny you should mention that, but uh…" starts Hiccup, but he trailed off after finding that Astrid wasn't joking around.

"A swarm of Smothering Smokebreaths came to DunBroch while we were gone. They stripped all of the kingdom of its weapons and shields. They're only going to come back night after night until the entire kingdom falls to its knees and is taken over by Dagur," says Hiccup, speeding through his sentences. His speech was barely intelligible, and it took Astrid several moments to piece it together.

"Wait. You what with Smothering Smokebreaths?" she says. "Oh. Wait. What? You're saying that they're just starting to go through something that nearly destroyed Berk?"

"Exactly what I'm saying," replies Hiccup. "Except this time we know what it is that's doing this. This time, we just need to find it and find a way to get the weapons back."

Lord MacGuffin was standing in front of the entire crowd, even in front of Fergus and the other lords, but he hasn't uttered a single word. His jaw had never dropped, and it seemed as if he were dealing with thoughts swimming around in his head. He just stared at Hiccup and the other riders, then at where he thought was the direction in which the Smothering Smokebreaths took off.

"It's all on him!" he yells suddenly.


	10. Tension

Hiccup just stared at Lord MacGuffin, bewildered by his statement. He was so shocked to have the words slip from MacGuffin's lips all of a sudden. He was probably one of the last people he'd expect to be the one to put the blame on him, but after all, everyone knew Hiccup didn't do it.

"Wha— what makes you say that?" asks Hiccup, growing tense from hearing MacGuffin's words. The others, Dingwall and Macintosh, were split. Some of them believed MacGuffin, while some just thought his claim was pure rubbish.

"Who's the one who led dragons to DunBroch?" MacGuffin counters. "Smothering Smokebreath, according to you, is a dragon. You're the one who brought dragons down here to DunBroch. That means you brought Smothering Smokebreath here so DunBroch will fall to its knees. You allowed Dagur to escape because you didn't want him behind bars just yet. You set this up perfectly, drawing every single thing out until there were no inconsistencies left!"

"What?" yells Astrid, outraged that MacGuffin would jump to a conclusion that was completely ludicrous. The reasoning he provided didn't make any sense at all.

MacGuffin was breathing heavily after his rant. It all seemed reasonable to clans Dingwall and Macintosh, both of which were still split between blaming Hiccup and blaming someone else. DunBroch natives already brushed it off, but even Fergus was a little offset. If Hiccup was plotting with Dagur the entire time, then why didn't he just do away with the kingdom the first time he came?

"We should never have trusted you. You Vikings. You're all the same. Greedy, stinking murderers who just want complete control of these lands," adds MacGuffin. He slowly strolled off back to the castle with his entire clan, followed by Dingwall and Macintosh. The only ones left outside were the Vikings, Merida, and Fergus.

Fergus watched in plain shock as the doors to the castle closed behind Clan MacGuffin. "I really don't want to believe he's right," he says out loud.

"Neither do I," mentions Merida.

"Then you guys don't have to," says Hiccup.

"Then you'll need to prove that we don't have to believe in MacGuffin," says Fergus. "Trust me with this one. I'm on your side. I don't want MacGuffin to be right. But I just need to prove to the rest of the kingdom that you're not the one who led Smothering Smokebreaths to DunBroch."

"And so we will," blurts out Astrid.

Hiccup blinked several times, trying to think of how he's going to prove his innocence, but after about a minute, his head became a sea of thoughts—he couldn't stick to one thing long enough to actually think about it. "Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."

He headed back to the castle, leaving the other Vikings with Merida and Fergus. But they exchanged no glances, no words as they too headed back to the castle.

That night, Jack had arrived back at DunBroch. He hasn't been so lucky with his part in the search for Dagur either. He couldn't see a thing in the dead of night, so once he decided that he had strayed too far from DunBroch, he simply rode the wind back.

He roamed around the castle halls. The torches were still lit, but the place was completely silent. Everyone was fast asleep in their room.

Suddenly, he heard slight footsteps coming down from above. He quickly hid behind a corner as a light appeared at the end of the hallway. He breathed heavily and peeked around the corner to find Lord MacGuffin holding up a lantern as he stepped through a doorway. In his other hand he held a hammer, and he looked like he wanted to take out his anger on something. Jack didn't know what, but he was smart enough to know that the body position MacGuffin was in meant he was going to attack something.

MacGuffin opened the doors to every room and peeked inside before closing them slowly, as to not wake them up. He eventually reached a point where the hallway split to both sides. He headed to the left, and Jack followed him, barely out of sight.

MacGuffin opened one of the doors down the hallway and just stood there for a few seconds, observing what was inside the room. He glanced in both directions, Jack slipping out of sight just in time. Then he set the lantern down and proceeded to enter the room, struggling through the doorway.

Jack promptly followed Lord MacGuffin into the room. Hiccup was asleep inside, and MacGuffin was standing over his body. Still, MacGuffin hasn't noticed Jack was watching him.

Slowly, MacGuffin raised his hammer above Hiccup, Jack now standing less than five feet from him. His eyes widened when we realized what MacGuffin was about to do and aimed his staff at the hammer. He then fired a bolt of ice straight at MacGuffin's hand. It ended up knocking the hammer right into the bed frame with a very loud noise, waking Hiccup.

MacGuffin retrieved his hammer and went on to swing at Jack, who fired a bolt of ice right back. MacGuffin dodged it, and hit Hiccup square in the cheek as he was sitting up. The ice bit at his face, and his cheek began to feel numb after the hit.

If it did anything in Jack's favor, however, it woke up Hiccup. He quickly rolled out of the bed and ducked under the collapsing frame before he realized it was going down. He then cleared the area as the bed collapsed and took cover behind the debris.

Rapunzel, somehow still awake, dashed down the hallways upon hearing all the commotion. She tracked the sound to the very room Hiccup and Jack were in, holding a frying pan.

MacGuffin's back was toward her, so she took the opportunity to swing at his head. With a loud  _CLANG_  and a few seconds of silence, MacGuffin collapsed on the floor unconscious.

The sound was what ultimately awoke most people in the castle, including a startled King Fergus. With sleepy eyes that almost seemed shut, he sauntered toward Hiccup's room to find Rapunzel holding the frying pan.

Fergus's eyes glanced at the unconscious MacGuffin, then at Rapunzel, then at MacGuffin again. He then proceeded to drag MacGuffin's body out of the room by the legs. Without saying a word, he was gone with MacGuffin.

Merida also came rushing down the hallway. She passed by her father dragging MacGuffin across the cold stone floor and wondered what he was doing. Once she entered Hiccup's room, that's when the real questions started pouring in.

"What happened?" she demands.

"I don't know," responds Jack. "I get here, I see Lord MacGuffin awake, I follow him, he goes into Hiccup's room, and he tries to kill him!" He sped through the sequence of events so fast it made Merida's head spin as she tried to process it. "And then I—,"

"Hold on. Slow down. MacGuffin tried what?"

"He tried to kill him with a hammer in his sleep. But anyway, I was able to stop him just in time—,"

"Wait! You mean to say MacGuffin tried to kill someone in their sleep?"

Jack was beginning to grow tired of the interruptions. "Yes. Exactly what I mean."

Merida gave Rapunzel a long stare before asking for her side of the story.

Rapunzel's side was a lot shorter. "I hear something going on in this room, I see Jack and MacGuffin fighting, I break up the fight by knocking out MacGuffin. End of story from what I saw."

Hiccup was still covering himself, but once he heard Merida's voice arguing over the other two, he sat up. He was still rubbing his cheek from the blast from Jack. It still hurt, but really, it's only been two minutes since Jack fired that blast and accidentally hit him.

"You okay there?" asks Jack once he noticed that Hiccup was now up.

Hiccup moved his jaw from side to side with his hands. "Yeah, but it hurts. Even for someone who should really be used to this feeling after twenty years up there."

Merida intervened by changing the subject. "Now, MacGuffin just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would even attempt that. So maybe he accused Hiccup of trying to take over DunBroch with those Smokebreaths. But what does he have to prove it? Because killing the suspect is anything but proving his point."

"I don't know. And I think it's best we don't find out. Just go back to sleep, guys," says Hiccup.

For the rest of the night, nothing interesting happened. The Smothering Smokebreaths did not return to hoard more metal—that feat had been done earlier that night. There was still no sign of Dagur anywhere near the kingdom. Lord MacGuffin was kept locked up for the remainder of the night, separate from the Berserkers.

Back in Berk, several ships could be seen off in the distance. On the sails was the emblem of a Skrill. Berserkers, no doubt. But why are they here? Isn't their target Hiccup and the gang? They all remembered Hiccup saying something among the lines of, "they have Merida and we're going south to find her."

Gobber and Eugene watched from the forest as the ships slowly approached Berk. "Let's get back to the village," says Eugene. They took off straight back, tripping over rocks and swatting tree branches out of the way as they hustled into town. They headed down to the dock, where the ships were already were. For safety, they had several catapults and crossbows aimed at them. Eugene was the first to hop onto the ship. The second his feet landed on the vessel, those on-board pointed spears from all directions at him. Definitely a situation he's been in before.

"State your business," one of them says.

"My business?" questions Eugene. "You're the ones docking at Berk. Surely, you must be here for a reason."

The one Berserker exchanged a few words with the others in the form of a whisper. He turned back to face Eugene with the same menacing look. "Your name?"

"Flynn Rider."

"Well!" interrupts Gobber, shoving Eugene out of the way. "I'm sure old Flynn will have something to say to us later once we're sorted out here." The last few words were directed toward the Berserkers in a more threatening voice. "What exactly do you think you might be doing on Berk?" he says to them.

"Message from Dagur's all we've got here," says one of the Berserkers steadily. His voice did not falter a bit as he spoke on. "I promise there's nothing else on this ship except this." He held out a piece of parchment with some markings scribbled onto it.

He handed it to Gobber, who swiftly snatched it out of his hand. He pored over it about three times, whispering the words beneath his lips. A winter breeze continued to bite at their faces, especially their ears. Everyone shivered, even though this was something they were used to, and they were wearing fur.

"Okay. Well, you can all be on your merry way now. I'll get this delivered to the chief as soon as I possibly can!" Gobber hurried through his sentence as if he was just in a rush to get these men off of Berk. Well, of course it seem reasonable, but it was clear to them that there was nothing dangerous hidden on the ship or on the parchment.

The ship drifted away from the island as the Skrill emblem on the sail caught wind. Gobber turned his back to it and headed back into the village, where he continued to read the parchment. Eugene came rushing up to him, eager to find out what was written on it.

Gobber read out the words to Eugene. "By the way, what's this whole Flynn thing? Name sound so convincing."

"Oh, that?" says Eugene. "Uh… long story. Back when I was a bit more… I would say active, I guess?" His voice cracked multiple times. "Well, to put it in simpler terms it was when everyone hated me, and then—,"

"Whatever!" interrupts Gobber. "If it's something that we'll probably never have to worry about, then I don't want to hear about it." He waved his hook at Eugene and walked off.

As Gobber strolled through the rest of the village, he was greeted by several Vikings who were working at home. He was still poring over the piece of parchment. The literal meaning of the words was easy to interpret, but the literal meaning was something that was completely off–topic concerning the matter between Berk and the Berserkers. Gobber shoved the thing in his bag and headed off toward the academy.

Hiccup sat silently at the table in front of everyone. He took a sip out of a cup before giving a displeased face and washing it down his throat with some water. He bit out of an apple, the crunching grabbing the attention of everyone at his table. Hiccup just shrugged and went on chewing the sweet juicy fruit.

Merida stared at him with a blank face. "Okay. What's bothering you?" she suddenly says. "I know that look anywhere. You know something's not right."

Hiccup shot a glance at her. He swallowed the chunk of the apple that was in his mouth before going on speaking. "It's about MacGuffin last night." He leaned in closer to Merida because he didn't want anyone eavesdropping on their conversation. "You and I both know he doesn't want me here," he whispers to Merida. "He's going to keep blaming everything on me until the entire kingdom is convinced and wants to expel me from the kingdom. Then your father will have no choice but to go with them." His head turned over to a few MacGuffins at the other side of the Great Hall. Their heads seemed to turn away as Hiccup's eyes moved toward the two.

"Yes, but nobody knows what happened last night except us. No one knows where my dad put him," Merida whispers back.

"Still. Who's your kingdom going to trust? Me, a Viking," he emphasized the word Viking, "of whom your kingdom's only know of for a bit over a week, or Lord MacGuffin, an all–powerful leader who's well known throughout the clans? Sure, I'm a chief, but my domain isn't anywhere near here," he says as Rapunzel strolled over toward them. "Hey, Rapunzel." She took a seat across from Hiccup, next to Merida.

Hiccup had already finished his serving. "I'm going to go out. Maybe fly for a bit. Try to catch some fresh air." He stood up, swinging his legs around the table. Then he left and stepped into the sunlight. The door closed behind him.

He left Rapunzel and Merida at the table. A little while later, once most of the chatter around them died down, Merida stood up and left. She found Jack in the stables, tending to Angus and Maximus. "Have you seen Bunny anywhere recently?" she asks Jack.

Jack looked away from Maximus toward Merida. "No. I haven't seen him since that skirmish that cost Dagur his entire tribe."

"I swear that was ridiculous," mutters Merida.

Jack locked up Angus and Maximus. He sat at the bottom of the stairwell, icing the stone a little bit. "What do we do now that Dagur's on the move and nowhere to be found? If he found a way out to the sea, he would probably be nearly halfway back to Berserker Island."

"One problem, we don't know where that is."

Jack grumbled beneath his breath. "Well, we can't just wait here now, can we?"

"Well, maybe we have to." Merida stared at the ground. "MacGuffin's want the entire kingdom—the clans, and all—to turn against Hiccup for whatever reason. I don't know, maybe he's just upset that we're letting a Viking wander around the premises or something."

"And his son?"

"About him, I'm not very sure. Haven't actually seen him since Dagur was here, so whatever he may think is all to himself. No one can really understand what he's saying, anyway."

They stood in silence for a while. People continued milling around on their own business. "Come on," says Merida. "There's something that might have a chance at helping us." She opened the door to Angus's stall and pulled him out. Then she jumped onto him and trusted that Jack would be able to keep up with her.

They rolled out of the main gate to the kingdom, across the bridge and into the forest. Dodging hedges and tree branches, they eventually came up to a clearing. In the clearing was a circle of tall, looming stones. They all stood upright, except for one of them. It was broken around the base, the tower of rock collapsed into the circle. A skeleton lay under it. Whatever thing that must have belonged to was probably killed when the rock collapsed right on top of it. When Merida stared at it, she could imagine a little flicker of a red dot where one of the beast's eyes would have been.

She dismounted Angus right before entering the circle. Jack followed closely behind her. She looked around the place, finding that everything was the exact same as she had left it last time she visited the circle. Jack curiously strolled over to the fallen boulder and poked at the skeleton that lay beneath it.

Merida ignored Jack for the time being, relying on her memory to try and figure out where to go next. Once it had clicked in her mind and she knew exactly which way to go, she started to explain a few things. "A lot has happened here," she says, finding that Jack was actually attempting to find a way to move the boulder. "And that's not possible."

"Well, it was worth a try," says Jack, believing Merida. "What's under here, anyway? Some sort of dead uh… thing?"

Merida pointed at the skeleton. "That's Mor'du. The demon bear. My father lost his leg to the beast. It's what started the whole uh… rivalry thing."

"Really."

"Hold on. There's more."

"No!" exclaims Jack sarcastically.

Merida remounted Angus and headed off in the forest. It was in a different direction from which they came. Jack followed as Merida kept a steady pace, jumping over a felled tree every now and then.

Soon, they came up to a cleared space. It was nothing but rubble as far as Merida and Jack could see. It led up a hillside before the scenery ended abruptly on top of a cliff. The fallen stones were scattered across the entire land, and the fog gave it an even more ominous feeling.

Jack took interest in the place. He started forward while Merida slowly moved through the destroyed kingdom. Of course, she's been here before, so she knew exactly what she was doing.

While Jack was still lurking around the place, Merida spotted a large hole where one of the buildings would have been. A steep pile of rubble was there, serving as an entryway and exit to the building. The structure was still slightly intact at its foundation, but for the most part, it was beyond repair.

Merida took special note of the stone. On it, four princes were carved into the fine rock. It was split right before the last prince on the right; three on one side, the last one on the other side. Merida could envision the same bear from that stone circle here, breaking the relationship with his brothers, killing them off, and then becoming nothing more than a humongous creature that roamed the place, killing off everything it can find.  _I'm you. You're Mor'du,_  she thinks to the single prince at the end. She then stared at the three princes.  _And you three are the rest of the royal family. You all are the ones who fought valiantly to protect your own kingdom._  She kneeled down and viewed the entire thing as a whole.  _And what have I done?_

Then she went on to do something she thought she never thought she'd do. She took the two pieces of stone, and then attempted to fit them together as well as she possibly could. The two pieces, surprisingly, still snapped into place like puzzle pieces, but they didn't stay together. There was a chip where the two pieces connected, and although noticeable, it didn't serve as any hindrance to the image carried by the carving.

She set it back down, and the two pieces split apart once again.  _There's no way all of you are back together as one now, is there?_  Sighing, she stood up slowly and turned toward the exit and stopped herself.

Jack peered down toward her. "Why exactly are we here, again?" he asks.

"Once, there was an ancient kingdom," starts Merida. What is that supposed to mean? It didn't answer Jack's simple question.

"Uh…"

"Ruled by a fair king, and when he died, he split the kingdom among his four sons." She pointed her bow at each of the princes carved into the stone. "But the oldest wanted to rule the land for himself, following his own path." Using her foot, she pushed the single prince away from the other three. "And the kingdom fell to ruin, and…" she had just repeated a simpler version of the 'tale' Elinor had told her.

It didn't occur to Merida that Jack was listening the entire time. "And what?" he asks. "What is this story all about?"

Merida's head snapped to face Jack. "Oh. You're here. I thought you were still off looking around. So. How's your visit so far?"

"It's good, it's good. So what was that story all about? You seem to know it quite well if you can recite it perfectly." Jack took a seat on a pile of rubble, the dust blowing into the air. With a small huff from Jack, it was gone.

"It's just a story my mum used to tell me. Nothing more important than that."

She's lying. Jack knew it. No one can simply retell a story they've been told and make gestures and correspond perfectly with it. "No, I'm serious. What's it really about?"

Merida sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. It's really just about the tension between my mum and me a while back. This story, I guess you could sort of call it a 'metaphor' judging by how perfectly it lines up. Only problem is, it's true."

"Go on…"

"And that prince would be Mor'du."

Jack stared at Merida expressionlessly. "So why did you come back here? Surely, it's probably a bad memory by now, so why would you want to revisit something you hated."

She stood in silence, staring down at the four princes. "I'm just here because of the stress. All that talk and the developing rivalry between Hiccup and MacGuffin, it's pretty stressful when you're the princess of the kingdom that's in the middle of all that. Besides, there's still Dagur."

"Then I can only imagine it's tougher for your father to have to handle all of this. You're also going to have to pay attention to Macintosh and Dingwall. You all may be allies, but from what I've heard about your histories, they weren't very pretty. And that's very recent, too. Who knows what could cause this conflict with Hiccup and MacGuffin to escalate into a full-blown war?"

"I don't know. But one thing's for sure. We have to make sure nothing like that ever happens for the entire duration of this hunt for Dagur. If Berk and MacGuffin go to war, we and the other two clans will also be forced to get involved, leaving Dagur to play whatever move he feels is best."

But with Dagur at a low point right now, was there really something to worry about? Is it just fear that is driving them to pick every move so cautiously? Is it the fear of losing the kingdom to a player in the slums that's driving them to defend themselves?

Merida stayed there for a moment, thinking everything through. If they focus on one thing, the other thing will be what causes their kingdom to collapse.

"Then maybe it's time we head back," says Merida, mounting Angus and taking off into the woods. Jack followed her, flying above the forest.

When they arrived, it was about mid-afternoon. Hiccup was off arguing with a MacGuffin. No surprise there. And Fergus was in the middle of it.

"What I say is best is best for DunBroch! You have little to no experience roaming these lands! Fergus, I thought you would know better than to let a Viking onto DunBroch property," shouts MacGuffin.

Fergus opened his mouth before he was cut off by Hiccup.

"Oh, I think we can all agree that both of us lead a certain tribe, but why don't you actually open your head and listen to other people for once in a while? The only one you even have the slightest chance of listening to is Fergus!" Hiccup shouts back. "And I think we can both agree that people are trying to keep the peace in the kingdom, and if peace between clans won't work, then I don't know what kingdom I've entered anymore!"

He's never like this. Merida and Jack have come to know Hiccup as a cool, laid back kind of guy who just likes to fly around from time to time. Not as another frustrated person who struggles at leading, who argues all the time.

MacGuffin grumbled. He opened his mouth, and his voice cracked, but he shut it after about a second. Then, out of nowhere, he stormed off, mumbling several words beneath his lips.

Hiccup sighed heavily, blowing his hair up. "Oh, what am I supposed to do about this? Why couldn't I have just ran off when you tried to kill me? It would've been so much better if—,"

"No it wouldn't," Fergus cuts him off. "What's important now is that Dagur is still out there. I know MacGuffin more than anyone else. Just leave the matter to me, lad."

Hiccup walked away silently with his head down. Jack and Merida joined him.

"Still not getting through to MacGuffin, I see," says Jack.

Hiccup sighed. "Oh, I will eventually."

As North continued to spy on Jack, which he honestly thought was rude but necessary, he felt the sudden urge to call all of the Guardians back to the pole. For an unknown reason—neither Pitch nor any supernatural force was on the rise, but it mainly concerned the chief and the two princesses. Christmas has just recently passed, meaning he could finally relax and grab some down time for the next few weeks.

It was something that was on the rise at the moment, something on the rise at the same time as tensions between Berk and MacGuffin continued to rise, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

The Smothering Smokebreaths were a double win for them. It left the kingdom of DunBroch incapacitated and it's what ultimately began the conflict between Berk and MacGuffin.

And now it was on the verge of escalating into total warfare between the two distant cultures, being about a day and a half's boat ride away.

North reached for it, but pulled his hand back. Was there really a reason for him to do this? Bunnymund was already out there helping Jack, and he had found out before North even received the slightest bit of information concerning this uprising.

Yet he was aware that Dagur was presented as a joke to the clans, to the two Guardians, to everyone who attended. It was designed specifically to trick everyone into thinking that these dragon trappers were nothing but a small group of anti-dragon riding Vikings.

But North saw otherwise. He had seen what the trappers have truly become, even after the death of their beloved leader, Drago Bludvist. The group, though now without a Bewilderbeast, had changed their method from using the Bewilderbeast to control dragons to using the same method Drago used to gain control of his Bewilderbeast. Sometimes, if a dragon was too stubborn, they would just kill it off and dispose of the body in the ocean.

And that would involve pain. Not just for the dragons, but for the unlucky few who had to watch over them all the time. The dragons would become irritable and randomly lash out at the nearest person there was. Sometimes it proved to be fatal, others only gave the victim a light scratch or a scar on the arm. They would then go on and make fun of it and show off how tough they were.

North reached for it again. Again, he pulled his hand back. He checked the globe. Obviously, nothing wrong with that. A couple of lights went out, but that was completely normal as children continued to grow.

"Are Tooth and Sandy even aware of this?" he asks himself, staring at the globe. He glanced at the moon and then looked away.

North gripped the handle. "I'm going to regret this." Squeezing his eyes shut and looking away, he turned it and pushed down.

Dagur arrived back at the island. The leader came up to him with a straight face. "Are the Smothering Smokebreaths planted?"

Dagur simply nodded. "And they're chipping away at the kingdom's resources by the minute. Soon, DunBroch will fall, and I can have Berk all for myself. A bit of a pain, it was, trying to hide from them and get to the right spot to plant the Smokebreath, but taking Alvin's ship made it so much easier."

The leader nodded. "Yes, I'm sure it's difficult to hide in the forest with people looking for you. Especially when those people are dragon riders." He placed emphasis on the last two words.

Dagur simply scoffed. "Dragon riders? No problem now that we've actually got people who can aim a catapult. Should be easy from here on out."

After a break for the day, Bunnymund reappeared at DunBroch. He appeared next to Jack and Merida, both of which were trying to help Hiccup calm down.

"What happened here?" he asks.

Jack looked up. "Oh well… uh, it's sort of a long story. You see, there were Smothering Smokebreaths that paid the kingdom a visit last night, and now one of the lords, MacGuffin, is blaming Hiccup for it because Hiccup is the dragon trainer out of all of us."

Bunnymund nodded. "Ah, I see. But what's a 'Smothering Smokebreath' do that makes someone so frustrated?"

Jack laughed lightly. "Uh… well, they sort of—,"

"Take your weapons, shields, anything metal, and they build a nest out of them. Once you lose something to a Smokebreath, chances are you're not getting it back in one piece. I don't think you in particular have to be concerned about it though," interrupts Hiccup.

"Ah, I see," says Bunnymund. "I'd be a bit irritable as well if I lost my sword or axe to a dragon like that."

Suddenly they were interrupted by something in the sky. The lights, visible off in the distance, shone with a brilliant aura. Jack and Bunnymund exchanged glances.

"We got to go," says Jack, flying off toward the northern lights. Bunnymund followed closely after him, soon entering a tunnel to the pole.

**END OF PART 1**

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons fanfiction. No AU, no shippings, OCs kept at a minimum


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